The Alternate
by KSuzie
Summary: Kim didn’t ask for the life the Great Power handed her. Now that her own world is lost and Thomas can’t return her where she belongs, will her substitution for a dead Kimberly in an AU save that world or destroy it? Kim/Tommy
1. Chapter 1: The Alternate

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter One: The Exchange

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Kim didn't ask for the life the Great Power handed her and she certainly didn't ask to be possessed by the demon Kemora. Now that her own world is lost and Thomas can't return her where she belongs, will her substitution for a dead Kimberly in an alternate universe help him to stabilize another doomed world?

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This is the story of the alternate Kim that appeared in _The Coins:__ Chapter 8: Evil is as Evil Does_. She's the young Kim who was possessed by Kemora and rescued by Thomas.

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**_.

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Dedication:

**_For Katey, who thinks my other stories are way too long and boring…and way too smoochy_**

**_and to all Alternate Universes and the imaginations that created them.__

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_Author's note: Just to clear up some confusion, the Alternate takes place between three different dimensions: The dimension in which The Coins is based, the alternate Kimberly's home dimension, and the dimension in which Thomas placed her (where she is now). All three are similar, but have noticeable differences. I'll do my best to clarify things as the story progresses. _

_In the AU where Kimberly was replaced as an alternate: The Rangers are all turning sixteen, they are still using the MMPR uniform and zords and do not have Ninjetti powers. Zedd has just sealed Rita back in her dumpster and, although Katherine Hillard is a known to be student at Angel Grove High, the Rangers don't know her. This story will **not** include a Tommy/Kat pairing, even though the pairing is mentioned as being a stable timeline. By stable timeline, I mean that Tommy and Kat were/are a legitimate PR couple and this story is merely giving a nod to that. Any eventual pairings will mostly likely follow those in The Coins. _

_In Kimberly's previous AU: The Rangers were turning 15 and had already been Rangers for nearly a year. Rita and Zedd had already reunited (Rita's love spell) and Katherine was already "dating" Tommy, but she was not a Ranger. _

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Kim wasn't sure this was such a good idea, but she trusted Thomas… and it wasn't really like she had any other place to go. Thomas had finally located her dimension, only to find that it was a blue world. A blue world meant that the timeline was progressing normally and stably toward a dimension devoted to evil. There was nothing that he or anyone else could do about it and Thomas promised her that he hadn't saved her life only to let her die in an evil realm.

How things could have changed so much in the short time she'd been gone, she didn't know. Her life had been pretty good up until the point where Kemora had possessed her. Well, as good as anything else in her life had been since her mom, brother, and twin sister had been killed a car accident five years ago. No one was sure why she had survived, she just had. Life living with relatives had been pretty harsh since then, but things had definitely improved since she'd been tapped as a Power Ranger just over a year ago. Zordon and the Rangers had become her family.

Had, Kim thought miserably. Once Kemora had possessed her, she had set about systematically murdering each and every one of them. She had no memory of this, but the information Thomas had uncovered was crushing. She had murdered the Rangers and then blown up the Power Chamber, also killing Zordon and Alpha. The Rangers gone, Rita and Lord Zedd reined supreme over a broken world.

Thomas had pounded it into her head that it wasn't Kim who had done it, it was Kemora, but Kemora had done it all using Kim's body, so it was the same thing. She couldn't go back. Even if Thomas had been willing to doom her to blue dimension, Tommy's girlfriend Kat had witnessed Kim murder her boyfriend and had made it her mission in life to destroy her. Going back had been the most horrible experience of her young life and nightmares had ruled her dreams ever since.

She couldn't stay with Thomas either. He was a very old dimensional being who floated from one universe to the next and there was no place in his life or his work for a young girl. She was lost. Finally, after what seemed like ages of uncertainty, he had an idea. There was a dimension where Kemora had posessed a young Kimberly, but the team had survived. That Tommy was an incredibly strong version for one so young and it was one of the extremely rare instances where Kemora had been beaten. The problem was, even though that Tommy had managed to save the Rangers, in order to defeat Kemora, he had been forced to kill the resident Kimberly. The timeline for that world had then spiraled out of control. It was something called a red world, a very dangerous variation that couldn't be controlled and would eventually destabilize and affect the entire dimension.

Thomas took her back through time to just a few minutes after the resident team's battle with Kemora. At first the team had been ecstatic that Thomas had returned with Kimberly, until they realized she wasn't their Kimberly. They stared at her silently while Thomas explained her story to Zordon and suggested his idea to leave her in this dimension to see if it would stabilize the timeline.

"Her history will be a little different," Thomas continued. "Her memory of events will be slightly off from those that occurred in your dimension, but the two timelines are similar, so she should be able to adequately adjust."

"And if she is unable to adapt to this dimension or if the timeline continues to disintegrate?" Zordon asked.

"Then we will contend with that scenario when the time comes." Thomas responded. He didn't add that he had already witnessed the destruction of this world. Taking the girl this far back into its past was risky. The girl would either stabilize the timeline or she wouldn't. It was a gamble, but one where he had very little to lose. If he left the girl on her own world, she would die. If her presence failed to stabilize the timeline on this world, she would also die, but at least he would have given her a chance.

"I am concerned that you have not fully discussed the possible ramifications of your decision with the Guardians," Zordon said from his power tube, "However, I can not deny that her presence will greatly simplify matters for the Rangers of this world the short term." A pink Ranger was needed to keep the team at full strength. Now that Zedd had displaced Rita, the battles were only escalating in their intensity. He had a young girl in mind to take the fallen Kimberly's place, but this solution worked well too. Thomas wouldn't have risked a second visit so soon if Kimberly's place on this team wasn't important to the timeline. "And what do you say to this substitution young Kimberly." He asked, the massive shape of his head turning to regard the young visitor.

Kimberly looked up at the face she had grown to love as a father. It was identical to the one she had left just a few days ago, but this was not her Zordon, these were not her friends, and this was not the Power Chamber she had called home for the better part of a year. This was not even her world. Her world was gone and her friends lost. Even if Thomas took her back in time to before Kemora had possessed her, hers was still a doomed world.

A balance had to be maintained; for every green world that stabilized into a dimension which served the good, there was an opposite blue world that must be devoted to evil. Better to take her chances on an undetermined world than return to a place and time where she knew for certain all were condemned. "I don't think I have a choice." She said honestly, wishing more than anything else to just crawl in a hole and stay there the rest of her life.

"Thomas, I will accept your proposal and take charge of the girl. However," Zordon said sternly, "I do not relinquish you of your responsibility towards her. She is aware of your existence and aware of the Guardians. You must return at regularly scheduled intervals to review her progress and provide council. If the timeline for this dimension fails stabilize or in the event that her presence as a Kimberly from a blue dimension begins to seriously disrupt the future of this world, I charge you with the responsibility of placing her elsewhere."

Thomas raised an eyebrow at the great master. This last statement was not what he'd been expecting. He had planned to leave the girl and be done with it. If the timeline stabilized, then he had done a good thing for her and this planet in general, if it didn't, well…

He turned and walked over to the girl. She was so like the wife he had lost eons ago. He realized he should have left her to die in Rita's evil dimension with K, but he simply couldn't. Part of him, deep down in a place long forgotten, still cared what happened to the Kimberlys he met. He couldn't help it; he had seen too many of them die. "I will return to this time and this dimension every six of your months." He said flatly and the girl nodded silently, huge brown eyes regarding him mournfully. He turned and bowed respectfully to Zordon and then he was gone.

For a long, agonizing moment Kim regarded the Rangers in front of her and they regarded her. She was painfully aware that she was a look-a-like replacement for a dead team member. It was creepy. She was the living image of someone who didn't exist anymore. She was about to take over the dead girl's life; her place as the pink Ranger, her place at school, her place among her friends. The world would never know it had lost its Kimberly Hart and an alternate had taken her place.

"Tommy." Zordon called and Tommy's gaze left hers and turned to his mentor.

"Yes Zordon."

"We must begin by fitting Kimberly with a communicator and morpher that will respond to her bio-signatures and function properly in this dimension. Then you and the others must arrange a narrative that will account for her lack of memory and confusion towards the past events in this world."

Tommy nodded and turned his gaze back to Kim. He had just held his dying friend in his arms less than half an hour ago, just brought her lifeless shell back to the Power Chamber where Zordon had taken it and absolved him of her death, had just mulled over and over how he was going to explain things to her mother. Except for her hair, the girl looked exactly like Kimberly, sounded like Kimberly, but could she really take Kimberly's place?

Something about the whole idea made his skin crawl. Kimberly deserved better than that. He had been at odds with her since she had devoted all her spare time to gymnastics, effectively shunning her group of friends for extra practice sessions at the gym, but she was still his friend and teammate. She deserved to be honored for her life and her service as a Ranger; not replaced by a look-a-like.

Squaring his shoulders, he walked over to the girl. She had just lost her entire team and her Zordon, she had to be experiencing ten times the emotional upheaval he was. As he approached, he saw her shoulders square up just as his had, which made it easier for him to smile at her. "I'm Tommy." He said, holding out his hand. "It's nice to meet you Kimberly. Welcome to our world."

"Call me Kim." She said quietly, firmly shaking his hand.


	2. Chapter 2: The Switch

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter Two: Odd Man Out

_The Power Rangers belong to Saban or Disney. _

**This story takes place in an alternate universe**.

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Kim sat in the hospital bed mentally going over the five or so basic things she had to remember. First of all, it was November, not January and she was turning sixteen on her next birthday, not fifteen. Her parents were both alive and divorced and she had one brother, Michael, and no twin named Kristina. She was wild about gymnastics, and apparently really good at it, as well as shopping, manicures, dolls, and the color pink.

Kim herself hadn't taken gymnastics classes in the five years since her mom died and, although she did like shopping, the baby dolls and the obsession with everything pink were going to be a challenge. Like all Rangers, Kim bowed to the custom of wearing her uniform color; she just tended to pair everything with basic black. That, like the heavy metal music she liked, were apparently going to be big no-nos for a while...or at least chalked up to a brain injury and a personality change.

The time difference confused her more than anything else. For some reason these Rangers were ahead of her chronologically, but their Zedd had only just kicked Rita out and the two had not reunited…yet. Tommy wasn't paired off with Kat either, which was really strange; but apparently none of these Rangers dated anyone. There was a new exchange student at school named Katherine, who was from Australia like the other Kat, but none of the Rangers had met her. It was weird and mind boggling at the same time.

The zords were the same, which gave her a little comfort and apparently Jason, Trini, and Zack were also in Switzerland just like in her dimension; but again, the similarities were only superficial. The Kimberly of this world hadn't been nearly as close to the other Rangers as she had been, she thought sadly, but this Kimberly still had her mother and was apparently really spoiled. She hadn't needed to find another family to love.

She wiped her sweaty palms on the sheets at the thought of her mom. After nearly five years, she was going to get her mom back. She understood this woman was going to look and sound like her mom, but it was really the resident Kimberly's parent, not hers. This mom was going to be just as different as she was. It was all confusing and her head hurt just thinking of it.

She put her hands in her lap and tried her hardest not to peel off the new acrylic nails Aisha had taken her to get. Her fingers were the same soft bubble gum pink the other Kimberly had liked, but they were a lot longer than she was used to and very think. Acrylic nails were stupid and she didn't know how the other Kimberly had kept them so long and never gotten them ripped off while fighting a monster.

Her hair was still in the same short bob she always wore, but they had removed the whitish blond streaks she preferred and taken it back to the boring monotone caramel color it was naturally. It would be explained that her hair had been burned in a monster attack and the Rangers had needed to cut it off. Their Kimberly had apparently kept her hair really long and she curled and twisted and fussed over it constantly. Kim could care less what her hair was doing, as long as it was out of her eyes; another difference.

She fretted again over the differences. They were minor, but they also added up to be huge. She was an imposter and she was scarred to death she'd be found out. She wondered if this new mother would somehow instinctually know she wasn't her real daughter and her imagination went wild thinking about the horrible scene that would occur if she should ever find out the truth.

Kim's alibi was pretty tight though. She'd gotten caught up in the monster attack that had happened just as school was letting out, which was why she'd missed gymnastics practice. She had been severely injured and the Rangers had taken her back to their base to help her. All her wounds had been repaired, as only their technology could do, but her memory had been scrambled and they didn't know how much she would ever be able to remember. Her mother would be warned that she was very confused and barely knew where she was, let alone the details of her life. Tommy had also decided to throw in a comment or two about possible personality changes, which irked her, but she knew it was for the best. He was concerned that Kim didn't behave much like their friend would and didn't even like or dislike the same things.

Tommy had also decided to stay behind, fully morphed in his white uniform, until her mother had arrived so he could talk to her himself. That had come in really handy when she overheard the doctors talking about the results of all the tests they had run on her. She had overheard a reference to what looked like well healed massive trauma. That would be the old injuries from the car accident that killed her family. Tommy had heard the comments too and was quick to point out that Ranger technology may have healed her, but the scars would always show. This had satisfied them and they had simply dispersed to do other things until her mother arrived.

She knew they were going to keep her overnight for observation and although she'd already had a visit from the on call shrink about her lack of memory, she would have another visit tonight, and also have to see him again before she could be released tomorrow. The Rangers hadn't considered that development, but she supposed it would make sense. She'd supposedly been through a huge traumatic event, but she fretted she'd screw up and say something she wasn't supposed to. She looked up as Tommy entered the room, still in uniform.

"Alright, you're mom's here." He said and she nodded, swallowing hard. "I'm going to meet her in the family consultation room the doctors have taken her to. I'll explain everything, just sit tight."

"Tommy?" She asked as he turned away, and he turned back around. "What if this doesn't work?" She whispered.

"It has to." He said, and closed the door behind him.

For more than a half hour, she squirmed and fretted. There was nothing on TV; all the shows were different than the ones she knew. Some were similar, but all they did was increase her anxiety. Finally, when she thought she would scream with the frustration of if all, one of the doctors walked in.

"How are you feeling?' He asked, coming to her bedside. Kim wanted to scream, if one more doctor or nurse asked her that she was going to go ballistic.

"Frustrated." She admitted. "Scared."

"Well the worst of it is over." He said, trying to be reassuring. "Your mother has arrived and is waiting outside to see you." He placed a hand on her arm as she blanched. "It's going to be fine, she understands that you've been through a lot today and that you're feeling a little off."

"A little off?" Kim asked incredulously. "It's like I'm in a completely different reality." She said honestly. Zordon had warned her to stay as close to the truth as possible. Her own story would be convincing enough. If she started creating stories, she'd only forget what she'd said.

"You're going to be fine Kimberly." The doctor said. "Things are just a little confusing for you now."

"And if they don't stop being confusing?"

"Then we have plenty of people to help you adjust. Your mother has already said she'll do whatever it takes to help you."

Kim nodded, but she was still less than reassured. Taking someone's place was easy in theory, the reality was terrifying. As the doctor turned and opened the door, Kimberly thought hard about her own mother. She could barely remember what she looked like or the sound of her voice. It had been so long ago and she had been so young…and she had been so lost without her. She was not the spoiled and coddled little princess this woman was expecting. Although she had been well taken care of, she had been on her own for a very long time.

Kim had grown up fast without her parents and she was a tough, independent, and stubborn girl. She wasn't used to being pampered or indulged. She had known for a very long time that no one but herself was going to help her get anything. That knowledge had matured her emotionally and made her strong. She was more severe, more edgy than the little girl she was replacing; even though that girl was apparently a whole year older than she was.

As the living image of her own mother walked in, Kim realized she had been crying hard and her heart softened towards her. Her daughter was gone and she'd never see her again; the thought broke Kim's heart. She remembered all too well the moment she realized she'd never see her family again; it had been crushing. She resolved in that second to be the best daughter she could to this woman. She'd never be her Kimberly, but at least her existence could soften the pain of that loss.

"My baby girl." The woman cried as she rushed to Kim's bedside and hugged her tightly. "We're going to fix this sweetie." She reassured.

Kimberly returned the woman's hug and gently patted her back. There was nothing to fix, she thought sadly. She was the fix; the patch for a timeline that had spiraled out of control. She couldn't bring the other girl back, not even Zordon could, but maybe, just maybe she could make things right again for the people of this world.


	3. Chapter 3:Different Is As Different Does

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter Three: Different is as Different Does.

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. __**Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney.

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Kim couldn't sleep. Nightmares of the dead Kimberly haunted her in this room. Every time she'd lay her head on the pink lacy pillow she could almost feel the claw like hands of her predecessor reach out and try to strangle her. It was nonsense, but the feeling that the other girl hated and resented her being in her room, taking over her life, just wouldn't go away. This was her third night in the fluffy pink and white bedroom and for the third time she sprang out of the large queen size bed, ripped the covers off and tossed them on the floor.

In less than five hours she had to get up and go back to school. The other Kimberly had been a full year ahead of her and, even though all her teachers had been warned of her memory loss, Kim cringed at the mess she was going to make. Her teachers were all going to re-test her and then they'd go from there. Kim knew exactly how she was going to test tomorrow; exactly one year behind.

At least she had been able to plead off gymnastics practice, but Kim honestly didn't know how much longer that was going to work. Her mother had taken her to "visit" the gymnastics center Saturday. She had gone on and on about how everyone was asking about her and how she really should make an effort to "just look at it." Kim had smiled tightly as the small crowd of girls and coaches gushed over her, but it was obvious to her mom and her coach that she had no memory of any of them.

The twenty minutes they had spent there had been completely overwhelming and Kim had actually broken into a sweat before bolting out the door. She felt like a coward for it, this had been the other Kimberly's whole focus in life, but it was completely unbearable to be gushed and fawned over like she was some kind of superstar. Her mother had said nothing, simply asked if she was alright and ready to go home. Kim had nodded and, although they didn't speak about it again, Kim had heard her mom crying on the phone to her grandmother about it. Now, tomorrow, she had to face the other Kimberly's school.

A tapping on the window caught her attention and, frowning, she jumped up to investigate. To her surprise, Tommy was on the other side of the glass, so she opened it.

"Hey." She said, "You always go tapping on a girl's window at two in the morning?"

"No." He answered, giving her a strange look. "Look, just forget it." He said, turning to walk away.

"Hey, hold on." She called in a loud whisper. She popped the screen hooks, removing it from the sill and jumped out. Another difference, she thought wryly; her family home was a rambler instead of a two story.

She caught up to him easily as he crossed the front yard, but when she hissed at him to hold up, he turned and gave her a strange look.

"What?" she asked. "You're the one tapping on windows in the middle of the night."

"You're wearing your pajamas." He said uncomfortably, avoiding looking directly at her.

"Oh come on." She snorted. "Like these things are even half as revealing as the stuff I wear during the day." She tried to see if he was actually blushing, but it was too dark out. He shrugged uncomfortably and silence fell between them.

"So you want to sit?" She asked, walking over and sitting on the curb between two driveways. He nodded and sat down next to her.

"I'm going back to school tomorrow." She said after he still didn't say anything. You know I'm going to test out a whole year behind. Do you think they'll put me back?" Kim couldn't imagine not being in the same classes as the other Rangers. She would be lost without Aisha to talk with in the halls and at lunch or Billy to help her through science lab.

"I dunno." He shrugged.

"It's really going to stink without you and Adam to make faces with in English."

Tommy turned and regarded her curiously. She was so unlike the Kimberly he knew. His Uncle John's daughter took classes at the same gymnastics center Kimberly used to train at. She had told him all about Kim's return. How she had looked around like she was completely lost and then bolted out the door. Of course, Sheila had squealed in delight about it; the two girls definitely hadn't liked each other.

Although Kimberly had been his team mate and his friend, he had to admit that she'd definitely been a primo donna. She was on the fast track to the Pan Global Games and knew it… had been, he corrected himself.

"My cousin told me about what happened at the gym Saturday afternoon." He said.

"Your cousin?" She asked.

"My cousin Sheila trains at the same center. She said it was pretty obvious you didn't have a clue where you were or what was going on."

"Oh gee, and I thought I hid it so well." She said sarcastically. "I'm sorry Tommy, I really tried, but the past few days have been so tough. My mom keeps taking me places and doing things are supposed to make me remember something, things that were important to other Kimberly or that she supposedly loved, but…I dunno," she said in a defeated tone. "It's all just really weird. I'm trying, I really am." She said plaintively, "It's just this other me, she was so…not me."

Tommy nodded and worried his fingers together nervously. He doubted Kim had any idea how unlike the other Kimberly she really was. It wasn't that she had been a snob, but she had been a world class athlete and had a total attitude about it. She knew she was hot stuff and expected people to kowtow to her. She'd already been on the cover of sports magazines and featured in the news and other places. Just last month a popular teen magazine had done a whole story on her.

"I'm trying." She said, shaking her head, "But all I end up doing is making my mom cry…her mom."

"Don't try so hard to be her." Tommy said quietly, thinking about what he'd come over to say. The truth was, he was as worried about her return to school as she was. She had no idea the viper's nest she was walking into and he sincerely doubted her mom had any clue either.

"What?" she asked.

"You're trying too hard to be someone you're not; it's not gonna work." He said, picking a piece of grass and shredding it between his fingers.

"But I am her. The whole reason I'm here is to take her place."

Tommy tossed the shreds of grass down and looked at her seriously. Between his cousin's malicious crowing and the news stories on TV of the Pan Global hopeful struck down by an Angel Grove monster, he was more than a little concerned about the new Kimberly's welfare. He'd brought his concerns to Zordon, who had encouraged him to go over and talk to her, but it had always been difficult for him to approach or talk to Kimberly, and he'd hesitated and put it off until it was too late to actually go over see her. He'd tossed and turned in his bed and finally just gotten up and snuck out of the house.

It wasn't all that uncommon for him to go walking around at night, but he'd never actually asked Alpha to transport him to another neighborhood; let alone go looking into a girl's bedroom window. He must have been out of his mind to knock on that glass, but he'd seen her get up and throw the covers on the floor.

"You're here to take her place as a Ranger and to have a place to live your life because your own world is gone. Zordon's always telling us to be true to ourselves. You're trying so hard, and failing, to take someone else's place because you're not that person."

"But I am her." Kim insisted. "We're the same person. I'm just from a different dimension."

"You're not the same person. Maybe you're the same genetically, but even identical twins have different personalities." He said, trying to think of the words he needed to say. "You've had a different life than she did, made different choices. You need to stop struggling to be her and just be you." He paused, thinking of the words Zordon had given him to use. "When we go into battle, we have to reach deep down within ourselves and draw on all our core strength. If you're living a lie, all you'll be able to draw on is lies. It won't work."

"I don't think me being me would go over very well." Kim said hesitantly, bringing her knees up and tucking her arms in-between them. The few times she'd actually let her guard down and said or done something more like her than the other girl, everyone around her had simply stopped and stared at her.

"I think it'll be worse for you in the long run if you don't." He said, looking at her directly for the first time. Her eyes softened and she smiled at him.

"Thanks." She said and he nodded at her.

"So why were you sleeping on the floor?" He asked and she shifted uncomfortably.

"It's creepy sleeping in her bed." She said honestly. "I keep having dreams that she hates me for what I'm doing; taking over her life, her family."

Tommy's head cocked to one side, he'd been having nightmares too. Nightmares where Kimberly screamed at him for ruining her life, destroying her dreams, killing her so brutally; the images haunted him all night long. In the last one he'd had, just before getting up and going over to her house, she'd screamed at him for allowing someone else to take over her life and told him how she wished she'd never helped the Rangers save him from being Rita's evil green. He'd woken up in a panic with his heart pounding forcefully against his chest.

"I have nightmares about her too." He confessed and she surprised him by putting a hand on his arm.

"You must really miss her." She said.

"No." he said, shaking his head. "It's not that. We honestly weren't very close outside the Rangers. It's just that…"

"What?" She asked, when he paused.

"I killed her." He said, head hung low and his voice choking. "I ripped her apart so badly even Zordon couldn't put her back together."

"You killed Kemora." Kim said firmly, but Tommy shook his head.

"I killed my teammate. I knew she was in there somewhere. Even if Kemora had taken her over, it was still Kimberly's body I destroyed. I could have found another way, I know I could have…she got me angry," He confessed, as if it was a terrible dark secret he'd tried to burry deep within him. "She told me I could pretend to be a hero in white, but I'd always be an evil green at heart." His voice shook as he spoke and tears rolled down his cheeks. "Her spirit haunts my dreams too." He admitted, he didn't know why it was so easy to confess to her what he couldn't even voice to Zordon, but once he started, he couldn't stop. "She screams at me for ruining her life, for not trying hard enough to save her."

"You did save her." Kim insisted, wrapping an arm around his back and scooting closer. "I was taken over by Kemora too, what you did was the only thing you could do." He surprised her by turning into her arm, wrapping both his around her, and sobbing against her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." He choked out.

Kim wasn't sure what to do. This wasn't her Tommy, but even as an alternate, he was her teammate. She had to think of something to say, to comfort him, to tell him there really hadn't been anything he could have done differently. "Kemora was a very powerful demon." She said at last, patting his back. "Trust me, there was no way she was going to give up Kimberly's body willingly. You did what you had to do."

"Thomas found a way to save you from Kemora," He said, sitting up. "I could have found a way to save her." He used the base of his palms to wipe his face clear. He didn't know what had possessed him, hugging her like that, let alone crying in front of her. It had just been so hard; accepting the truth of what he'd done.

"My survival was an accident." She told him honestly. "Believe me, Thomas wouldn't have blinked twice at killing me to kill her." She looked up and met his eyes. "Tommy listen to me." She said firmly, drawing on all the strength she'd ever possessed as a Ranger to lock his attention and make him hear her. "When Kemora had possession of my body, I killed everyone. You, Aisha, Rocky, Adam…even Jason and Zack when they came back to find out what was going on. She used my body to get into the Power Chamber and destroyed Zordon's Power Tube and then literally shredded Alpha to pieces. From that point on, my world was doomed. Millions died when Zedd and Rita took over. There was _nothing_ else you could have done. You had to destroy Kemora and banish her from this world or more than just one little girl was going to die."

Kim paused as she watched her words process in his mind. She reached up and cupped his face with her hand. "I know I would have wanted my Tommy to do the same thing. Believe me when I tell you that you didn't kill your Kimberly, you freed her. Yes, she lost her body, but that was lost as soon as Kemora took it. You kept Kemora from stealing her soul and that's far more important. As Rangers we're sworn to protect this world; we all know the price we might have to pay. All of us are willing to die or to kill to make sure evil doesn't succeed." At her words, Tommy flinched and tried to turn away, but the hand on his face turned it back to hers. "Kemora had my body just like she had your Kimberly's. I did awful things, things I'll never be able to forgive myself for, but I know I would have easily and gladly forfeited my life to stop those things from happening; just like your Kimberly would have. She may have been spoiled, but she was also a Ranger."

"She had so much promise." Tommy said, though not as desperately as before. "And I cut that short."

"Yes." Kim said evenly. "And you can't bring her back any more than I can bring back my world. But what both of us can do is keep on living for them, to make sure they didn't forfeit their lives in vain. We owe it to them to go on, to protect this world and live life to the fullest for them."

Tommy reached up and laid a hand over the one holding his face. This girl who looked so much like his teammate was not what he'd expected or bargained for. She was strong and determined and obviously very kind at heart. He still felt overwhelmingly guilty for killing his teammate, but he was also suddenly very glad that her replacement was here with him on the street curb. He knew her history, understood she was traumatized, but he never stopped to consider the guilt she must be wrestling with. He had killed the other Kimberly and he would live with that silent knowledge the rest of his life, but she had destroyed her entire world. True, it was Kemora who had done it and not her, but he understood the guilt she felt; it was a common bond between them.

He brought her hand down from his face and squeezed it gently. She was going to have a really hard day tomorrow, he realized. Kimberly had been the most popular girl at school. Although she was friends with him and the other Rangers, she was part of a pack that was not going to like this new Kim very much. Talking with her now, he seriously doubted that she'd like them either.

She was self-sufficient and tough and she honestly cared about making him feel better. The other Kimberly might also have risen to that challenge, he thought, but she had been so busy with her own life that she'd had very little time for the problems of others. "Thank you." He said plainly, squeezing her hand again.

"Any time." She said, tilting her head and leaning it against his shoulder briefly. The contact startled him and he realized for the first time that she was far more comfortable with him than he was with her. She must have been much closer to his alternate.

"You were really close to them, weren't you?" He asked and just for a second he could see the raw pain she kept hidden beneath the surface. Her eyes misted with tears and she sniffed loudly.

"Yeah." She answered hoarsely. "They were my whole world, my family. I really miss them."

"I'm sorry." He said simply and she nodded, a few tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Life goes on." She said, her voice choking as his had. "I started over once before, I can do it again."

Tommy squeezed her hand reassuringly and she smiled sadly at him. "Tomorrow's gonna be tough." He said.

"Yeah…" She nodded and sniffed again, wiping her eyes with her free hand. "Do you suppose your Billy would be willing to tutor me like my Billy did?" She asked, noting his surprised look.

"I think he'd probably be really flattered if you asked him." Tommy said honestly.

"And the other Rangers?" She asked. "Do you think they'll accept me like the other Kimberly?"

Tommy wanted to say he thought they'd probably accept her a lot easier than they had the other Kimberly. It was going to be strange for a while, she looked and sounded so much like their other teammate, but she was also so different it was glaring. He kind of liked this version better, he admitted to himself honestly, but he really didn't know what the others would think.

"I think we're all gonna need time to get used to each other." He said honestly, "But you're one of us, a Ranger. We'll start from square one and take it from there."

Kim nodded, looking up at the stars in the early morning sky. She wondered briefly if any of those stars could be her home and then dismissed the idea as silly. She was in an alternate dimension; all of those stars would be alternate as well. The morning loomed in front of her like a huge weight about to fall on her head. Tomorrow she had to stop hiding, to go back to life. Tommy was right, she couldn't be the other Kimberly; she shouldn't even try. She needed to start from square one and make the others accept her for who she was now; she couldn't go back and be someone else. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, time to face the future.

* * *

Thomas stood in a small room surrounded by millions of multi colored lines. The lines shifted and swirled around him; perpetually in motion and yet none of them really going anywhere. He stared hard at the little spec he'd singled out. As he watched its line twist and turn, he realized it was changing, moving directions even as he stared at it. He raised his hand absently and the other specs and lines faded away. Even as he zeroed in on the line in question it changed again, slowly losing it's red color and shifting and blending first into orange and then to yellow. For the first time in a very long while, he smiled. 


	4. Chapter 4: Poles Apart

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter Four: Poles Apart

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. _

* * *

"It's just so creepy." Aisha said. "She looks like Kimberly, her voice is Kimberly, but she talks and acts so different."

The Rangers were gathered in the hallway of Angel Grove High, by the lockers where Tommy had been waiting a good ten minutes for Kim before heading off to lunch. He'd missed her before the opening bell and all their classes were pretty much on opposite sides of the school until the second part of the day. He was anxious to see how things were going for her and shifted from one foot to the other while he waited. He wasn't sure why he was feeling so worried and protective, but he knew in his gut that today wasn't going to be easy, so he made everyone hang around by the lockers before they headed into the cafeteria.

"I don't know why we're waiting on her." Rocky said, his stomach growling. "She's never wanted to sit with us before."

"Guys, we need to remember that, as hard as this is for us to adjust to, Kim isn't dealing with the substitution of just one friend and team member. Everything on this world is a substitution for her. She's all by herself and she needs us."

"I concur. The trauma done to her psyche will be far more significant than the underlying difficulties we may be experiencing." Billy offered. "But based on the initial encounters, I must admit I find this version far more amiable." He added.

"So I take it science lab went well this morning?" Aisha drolled.

"She asked me if I would agree to tutor her." He replied smugly and Tommy grinned.

"She did what?" Rocky asked.

"She asked me to…"

"We got that part." Rocky cut him off. "That's just so… un-Kimberly like."

"I don't think Kimberly's ever asked any of us to help her." Adam added. "I mean, wouldn't her mother pay for tutors?"

"I agree." Aisha said, shaking her head. "Between her mom and her grandmother, I'm sure they have all kinds of tutors lined up for her."

"She asked me." Billy insisted, feeling the others didn't believe him.

"Guys," Tommy interjected. "I told you, she's a lot different than our Kimberly. She was really close to her team members and she really misses them. She's gonna need our help and we need to make the effort to be there for her."

As if on cue, Kim walked out of a classroom door and made her way lethargically down the hallway; automatically going to one locker and then remembering it wasn't hers. She closed her eyes in frustration and sighed deeply, looking very lost along the familiar corridor, but then Tommy waved and her face brightened a bit. She hurried over to the rest of the team, sighing heavily and shoulders relaxing some of the tension that had built up there during the morning.

"You guys have absolutely no idea how glad I am to see you right now." She smiled in relief, but it was obvious she was close to tears. "This school is nothing like mine." She confided softly so the others in the hallway couldn't hear her. "I mean, almost all of the people are the same, but everything's different. I mean, the Vikings discovered America?"

"They did." Aisha said plainly.

"Yeah well, where I come from Columbus discovered America."

"Who's Columbus?" Adam asked.

"An explorer in the 15th century who claimed the geographical area now known as the Florida Keys for Spain." Billy provided.

Kim closed her eyes and shook her head. Not only was the history slightly different, some of the fictional books she'd read had different endings, and the way of calculating math was different too. There was no borrowing or carrying of ones, it was all set up to think in columns of ten with the rest figured out after. The answers were the same, it was just a different method and it totally blew her mind. All her classes were like that. She'd go in, walk to the instructor, be handed an exam, and then be told where to sit. She had failed everything miserably so far. The only exception was Art class, where she'd been given a large piece of paper and charcoal and told to choose an object to draw.

Drawing was second nature to Kim. She'd begun after her mom died and sketched constantly. It was a form of release for her, a way of expressing her emotions and capturing the feel of the moment she was in. She'd been grateful for the break from her alternate reality and mindlessly sketched the classroom and all its activity. There was the teacher, who was looking completely unfulfilled in life, a few students diligently completing the sketching assignment, girls giggling over something funny and guys goofing around, and there was even someone sound asleep and drooling on his paper. By the end of the hour, she was feeling more like herself again. Sighing with contentment, she'd signed her name at the bottom, handed in the paper, and gone to wash her hands in the corner sink.

But the teacher had still held her after class, just like all the others, insisting that she quickly sketch out the silk flower on the top of his pen. She'd done it quickly and efficiently while the instructor watched her in amazement. Apparently the other Kimberly had been as talented as a doorknob when it came to art. She would turn in stick figures and basically considered Art class a social hour where she didn't have to think too hard. Kim had groaned inwardly, knowing the two sketches she had produced were beyond good and that she was caught red handed. If she had known, she could have faked it for a while, but there was just no way someone could go from drawing stick figures to what she produced in a few days; brain injury or no.

She'd shrugged it off to the teacher, but confided the blunder miserably to Tommy as they walked toward the cafeteria. "What am I gonna do?" She asked miserably.

"It'll be alright." He reassured her, stopping with her just outside the door while the others filed through ahead of them.

"It's not going to be ok." Kim moaned. "_Cherry Pingly_ is apparently my best friend in the whole wide universe. I _hate_ that girl." Kim hissed softly. "I thought for a while maybe things would be different, but Power preserve me Tommy, that's about the only thing consistent in my life right now…_I still hate her_….and I'm apparently the most popular girl in school? How the heck am I supposed to keep a low profile and adjust to my new life if everybody's coming up to me and ogling me?"

Tommy stared at her for a moment and then chuckled softly. He'd been a little worried that, once she got to school and began hanging out with the other Kimberly's friends, she might change her mind about getting to know the Rangers better. He kind of liked this new Kimberly; they had a lot in common beyond the guilt that they felt over their teammates. In talking with her in the early hours of the morning, he realized she wasn't a Ranger by chance, she sounded like it was her whole life and she had been as dedicated to her service as his Kimberly had been to gymnastics.

He would never, ever, actually wish for a battle, but he had to admit he was a little eager to see how she fought. This Kimberly took martial arts as seriously as he did and the conversation had flowed freely and easily. Before they knew it, the sun was coming up and they'd had to very quickly cut the conversation short and run back to their respective homes.

"Just hang in there and remember to be yourself." He said, as they joined the lunch line.

"Being myself is causing a lot of problems." She said doubtfully. "What's gonna happen when the Mr. Mosner tells my mom how good I am? She's an art dealer for goodness sakes."

"Maybe it'll come as a relief after everyone else tells her how badly you failed your other exams." He offered and she made a face at him, all but slapping him with the plastic tray in her hands.

On the other side of the cafeteria, the Rangers regarded them curiously. "Is it just me," Aisha said, "Or do those two look suddenly joined at the hip."

"Kimberly….and Tommy?" Adam said, making a face at Rocky who was too busy eating to notice.

"Uck." Aisha said dramatically. "Now that's just too weird."

The Rangers weren't the only ones who noticed Kim's odd behavior. It was the hottest topic of the day among everyone at school; no matter what group you were in. Kimberly was far too popular to be dethroned over a head injury and odd behavior. The fact that she'd received that injury in a monster attack and had been rescued and cared for by the Power Rangers had catapulted her status so high no one could touch her.

Tommy Oliver was not unpopular, Cherry Pingly had been after him for months, but he never showed much interest in falling in with the jocks or flirting with the cheerleaders. He had his own pack of friends that included everyone from a star baseball player to the king of geeks… and that was just the way it was. Kimberly had always been friendly to him, acknowledging him in the halls and such, but to be seen publically joking around with him in the lunch line was unheard of and was the active topic at just about every table. In fact, no one could ever actually remember seeing Kimberly walk through the lunch line at all, with anyone. She usually sat at the cheerleader's table with a Tootsie Pop during lunch; which had become a kind of fad among some girls.

All eyes in the cafeteria followed the pair as they sat down at the same table and the buzz around them increased noticeably. After a few minutes, Cherry Pingly gave the group of six girls around her an imperial look and they rose as one to follow her to the table where Kimberly was sitting. Kim looked up at their approach and steeled her expression, but none of the Rangers missed her look of annoyance.

"Kimberly… why are you sitting here?" Cherry asked sweetly. "Our table is over there sweetie."

"What do you mean?" Kim asked innocently. The last thing in the world she was going to do was spend her entire lunch period with Cherry Pingly and her goons.

"We mean, why aren't you at the head table with us?" A girl named Marcia explained unnecessarily.

"Yeah, what's going on, why are you all of a sudden hanging out with Tommy?" Another girl named Chrissie added.

"Tommy?" Kim asked, genuinely taken back. It never dawned on her not to eat with Tommy and the other Rangers. For the millionth time she wondered just what kind of a stuck up little snot her double was. Not sit with her team mates?

"Yeah, you like, walked right past me in the hall and didn't even acknowledge me." Chrissie whined. To be snubbed by Kimberly in public was devastating, even if she did have some kind of brain damage.

"I …I recognized him." Kim said hesitantly. "In the hall outside of Art…I don't recognize very much here."

"Well, if you've got to remember someone, at least you've got good taste." Marcy said snidely, giving Tommy a look that meant she knew how to make him a lot happier than Kim did.

"Shut up Marcy." Cherry hissed. She'd been trying for months to catch Tommy's notice; it burned her to no end that Kimberly had snagged his attention in less than one morning.

"Well I was wondering about that." Kim said seriously, getting everyone's attention. "I mean, about an hour ago, this guy named Skull insisted we were engaged….it was kinda creepy."

It was such an un-Kimberly like thing for her to say, that everyone stared at her for several seconds before Aisha snorted and the other Rangers began to chuckle. The gaggle of girls began to giggle as well and Kim put on her best innocent look.

"What? Was that wrong? Are we?" She asked, eyes wide, and the girls around her erupted in more laughter. Cherry silenced them instantly with a slightly raised hand.

"I hope you told him to go take a flying leap for even talking to you." She said snidely.

"Uhm…no, not exactly." Kim responded, the innocent look becoming so unnaturally overdone that Tommy started chuckling despite himself. "I told him that the monster that did this to me had actually reprogrammed me to be this incredibly destructive force for evil and the Rangers weren't exactly sure they could totally fix me, so if he really loved me, and I was really once in love with him, the best thing for him to do was leave me completely alone before I went psycho again and started ripping people apart."

At her words, Rocky gagged on his food and began choking loudly. Adam immediately stood up and started pounding on his back and Billy tried a relatively unsuccessful Heimlich maneuver, but not even the seriousness of him choking could keep the Rangers from dissolving into genuine laughter.

"What?" Kim asked innocently as Rocky caught his breath again. "Did I say something wrong?" She asked, wide eyed and the Rangers again dissolved into laughter. The only ones not laughing were the gaggle of girls and, although some were trying hard not to giggle, Cherry was keeping them firmly in check. She wasn't sure if Kimberly was joking or not and she wasn't about to risk the other girl's displeasure if this was just another display of her injured memory. She gave her a hard, measuring look and Kim sighed, the frustrations of the day catching up with her.

She stood up slowly and edged up to Cherry with a conspiratorial look. "Here's the thing." She began as if including Cherry in her greatest confidence and ignoring the fact that all the Rangers could obviously hear her. "I'm not exactly feeling like myself." She said and Rocky snorted, Aisha slapping him to be silent. "It's been really hard," Kim confided as if she'd never been interrupted, "You know, with my mom so insistent that I like, go back to things as if nothing happened." Kim nodded her head and Cherry began to nod hers as well. Kim sighed heavily and made an overly dramatic look of frustration and despair. "It's just that…" she paused and looked Cherry directly in the eyes, "I'm over here at this table because just so afraid I'm going to embarrass myself." She whispered loudly.

"Do you want us to sit over here with you?" Cherry asked uncertainly.

"No." Kim answered quickly, then placed both hands square on the other girl's shoulders. "Can I count on you?" She asked seriously and Cherry nodded, completely caught up in the act.

"I…I need you to handle things for a while." Kim said, nodding again and Cherry nodded back. "Just until I can find my way back to being more like…me."

"What do you mean?" Cherry asked hesitantly.

"I need you to take over for me." Kim said seriously. "You know, fill in and take charge of things until I can…well, you know." She said, giving Cherry and knowing look.

"Oh…" Cherry said, the realization dawning on her that Kim was asking her to take charge of their group.

"Just until I can get things sorted out…" Kim added and Cherry nodded seriously. She put her hands on top of Kim's and squeezed them.

"You can count on me." She said gravely and Kim smiled sweetly at her. Sure, Kim thought, she could count on Cherry to be about as backstabbing as Goldar.

"I am so lucky to have you for a friend." She said instead. "Now… I think it would probably be best if you took… _them_…" She pointed at the gaggle of girls, "… back to our table." She said seriously and Cherry nodded again. "You know… before I do anymore damage to my reputation."

"Just leave things to me Kimberly." Cherry said with authority, shooing the girls away. "I'll take care of everything."

"I'm sure you will." Kim said sarcastically to her back.

As Cherry and the girls walked away Aisha said, "Oh my god, that was…that was…"

"Un-Kimberly like." Kim finished for her with a sigh. Sitting down, she picked up her taco and then tossed it down again. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I just can't stand those girls and, if I'm gonna live here, I refuse to pretend to be nice to them on a daily basis." She finished, picking up her food again and eating it quickly. Aisha started to say something, but she was cut off by the bell.

"Lunch can't be over already." Rocky complained. "I'm not done!"

"Time flies when you're having fun." Aisha said, gathering her things back on the lunch tray. "And today has certainly been different."

As the group hurriedly finished their lunch and deposited the trays and trash in the right areas, Tommy held Kim back. "We have the next two classes together." He said.

"Finally." Kim said dramatically. "Aside from Billy, I haven't seen anyone all day." She moaned.

"Aisha and I are both in AP classes in the morning." Tommy explained. "We're back with everyone else in the afternoon. Billy's mainstreamed, he doesn't need to be in this school at all, he's just supposed to be here to learn socialization skills; which is why he was in with your lab this morning."

"And the others?" Kim asked, but Tommy shrugged.

"I guess that's just how they scheduled us." He answered, leading her back out into the hallway and directing her to the correct locker.

"The combination's even different." Kim muttered, digging through her backpack to find the paper she'd written the code on.

"I know." Tommy said sympathetically, helping her switch out her books and pick out the right ones she'd need for the next few classes. "I transferred in mid year last year. I thought I'd never figure it all out."

Kim paused and looked at him for a moment, remembering something about her own Tommy. This one was being so nice to her. It wasn't that her Tommy hadn't liked her, he'd just been firmly attached to Katherine Hillard. None of their group had really dated, they were all only just turning fifteen, but since Rita had turned Kat evil and the Rangers had rescued her, they had always included her in their pack.

She'd tried to be friendly with her Kat, but the other girl had been very protective of her "boyfriend" and didn't like Tommy spending time with her. In this dimension, Katherine was an exchange student, and she'd smiled at Kim this morning in English class, but even though this group was a year older than she was, Katherine and Tommy obviously weren't together.

"What is it?" Tommy asked, as the warning bell to get to class sounded.

"Were you green…I mean before?" She asked softly.

"You mean a green Ranger?" He asked and she nodded. "Yeah, I just got my other powers this past summer." He said. "Why?"

"Were you…I mean…uhm…before…were you an evil green?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah." Tommy nodded, slightly taken aback. "But only for a few weeks. Why?"

Kim didn't get a chance to answer as Mr. Kaplan caught them both out in the halls after classes had started. "And just what do you two think you're doing out here?" He asked them, hands on his hips.

"I'm sorry Mr. Kaplan. Kimberly was lost… and she's in my class next period, I was just helping her find her way." Tommy explained.

"That was very nice of you Mr. Oliver, but I'll take over for you now."

"But, I'm going to the same History class, I can take her…"

"That won't be necessary Mr. Oliver, Miss Hart's mother has arrived and she'll be taking her home early."

"Really?" Kim asked. Not that she wanted to stay in school, but she wasn't expecting to go home either.

"She was called earlier to discuss the results of your first round of…evaluations." The principle said nicely, smiling at her as if she was an elementary student and not in high school. "Apparently you've had quite an eventful first day back young lady. I think you've had quite enough for now and we'll start again when you've had a little time to rest." He shooed Tommy away and Kim gave him a woeful look as he turned down the hall by himself.

"Am I being expelled?" She asked the principle hesitantly as they walked down the hall to the administration offices.

"No, no, no…" He said easily, waving his hand back and forth. "You're just going to need a little time to get over your…confusion. We're going to introduce you to some very nice people who are going to help you sort things out. Your mother's going to sit in with you, so don't you worry a bit. When you feel more confident about things, then you can return to regular classes."

"That sounds an awful lot like you're gonna lock me up in a nuthouse." Kim said, digging in her heels and stopping dead in her tracks. If they were going to send her away, she was going to bolt then and there. She'd lived at the Power Chamber once before, she could easily do it again. Nervously, her hand found its way to her communicator and she tapped an open link for Alpha and Zordon to listen in.

"No one is going to do any such thing Miss Hart.' Mr. Kaplan soothed in a placating manner. "You've been through a very traumatic experience and we believe, based on your evaluations, that you're not quite ready to return to school just yet. However, between the staff here at Angel Grove High and the experts your mother is going to provide for you, we'll have you back to normal in no time…and then you can resume your regular schedule." He placed one hand behind her back and gently pushed her toward his office.

"Oh God…" Kim moaned uncertainly.


	5. Chapter 5: Hello Alice part 1

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter Five: Hello Alice : Part 1

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. _

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe

* * *

**_

Tommy was staring at the viewing globe, oblivious to the rest of the team snickering at him. Kim had been taken out of school and placed in a home-school program. She'd also been taken to a whole string of doctors, from neurologists to psychiatrists, as well as several re-hab centers. He'd tried to go over and see her, but he'd been shooed away by her mother, who said she really wasn't feeling up to having visitors.

He'd considered sneaking out to check on her again, but Alpha had refused to transport him back into her neighborhood. Frustrated, he'd cursed up and down that he was still a few months away from getting his car and by the end of the school week, he'd begun to get downright irritable. But when he'd gone to the Command Center early Saturday morning with Billy to help with the computer maintenance, he'd been thrilled to discover that Zordon was keeping a close eye on her through the viewing globe and had been rooted in front of it ever since.

He told himself that, as the leader of the team, he had a right to be concerned about the alternate's transition into their society. The Rangers were only as strong as their weakest link and even Zordon was watching out for her. There hadn't been a monster attack in nearly two weeks, if you didn't count the day Kemora killed their Kimberly, and he wanted to make absolutely sure that she would be ready for action when the time came.

The other Rangers didn't see it that way though. They considered him obsessed with the new Kimberly and more than a little crushed on her. Aisha had fed the flames, commenting whenever she could on his "moony" look that day in the cafeteria and his irritability ever since she'd been pulled out of school. It was to the point where even Rocky and Adam were also beginning to give him grief.

Tommy shook off the teasing, but it was becoming irritating. True, he'd always found their Kimberly pretty and, yes, originally, he'd been a little attracted to her, but their Kimberly had very quickly cut off anything he might have started by making it very clear that her total focus was on gymnastics and she didn't have time for boys. This Kim was very different, but he still had no intentions of making a fool out of himself. Kim was a Ranger, a team member, and showed a lot of promise towards becoming a good friend, but he certainly didn't have crush on her. Crushes were stupid junior high school stuff and he was almost sixteen and the leader of Power Rangers. The idea was incredibly stupid and he refused to buy into it. Still, if Aisha and the others didn't knock off the teasing, he was seriously going to hit someone.

The viewing globe faded out as Kim retreated into her room to change her clothes and Tommy cursed a little too loudly, causing the rest of the team to dissolve in genuine laughter.

"For god's sake, she's changing her clothes." Aisha chided. "Leave the girl alone."

"I think your right Sha," Adam chuckled, "He really is addicted."

"Knock it off." Tommy growled, pacing around the control panel. He stopped abruptly and glanced back to the now dark globe. "I'm gonna go try and see her again." He said.

"Tommy, come on, she's going to the mall with her mom." Rocky tried to rationalize. "Leave her alone and let's go to Ernie's and spar or something."

Tommy regarded him for a second before looking back at the globe. Sparing sounded good, he needed to get away for while and burn off a little tension. The past ten days had been incredibly hard. Their Kimberly had been killed by Kemora and the new Kim that Thomas had brought them was having a very difficult time adjusting. He was genuinely torn. He looked back at Adam and then back at the dark viewing globe again before shaking his head. "Nah, I'm gonna go to the mall and meet up with them there." He said, and transported out before the others could comment.

"Did he just turn down sparing in favor of the mall?" Rocky asked incredulously.

"You still think that boy ain't got somethin going on with her?" Aisha drolled, giving him a cocky, I-told you-so look.

"Oh man…" Adam sighed dramatically and Rocky seconded him.

* * *

Kim wandered aimlessly through the bookstore. Her mother had planted herself in the reference section to find books that would help her bridge the gaps in the home school program and her brother was sitting on the floor looking at about four different anime books at the same time. Kim wondered briefly if their mom had any idea how many naked women were portrayed in those books, but said nothing.

She liked her brother, even though he had yet to warm up to her. From Kimberly's diaries, she knew that Michael was pretty much the bane of her existence and vice versa. Her little brother viewed the difficulties this Kim was having as just one more example of Kimberly demanding the attention of the whole family over him. Kim didn't know what the relationship with own brother would have been like. She remembered he'd been annoying, but she also remembered how devastating and empty his loss had been.

She gave him an "I've so busted you" look when she'd caught him with the anime books and smirked at his panicked look, but instead of running to their mom, she wondered away in the opposite direction. She watched him watch her out of the corner of her eye for a few minutes, pretending to ignore him, and then watched as he began to flip through the books again.

Opposite from the reference section was the children's section. As she browsed mindlessly through familiar and not so familiar titles, she got an idea. She scanned the books purposely for a few minutes before finding the title she wanted on a shelf dedicated to the classics.

"Alice in Wonderland?" Tommy asked, coming up from behind her and startling her to the point where she actually jumped.

"I can identify." She said sheepishly. "I wonder if it'll end the same as on my world."

"This is your world now." He responded and she shrugged.

"I guess so." She said in a tone that made him frown.

"How's it going with the home schooling?"

Kim responded with a nervous laugh and gestured for him to sit down in one of the reading sections. Home school was probably the better solution, but unfortunately it brought her more to the attention of her mom. On the advice of the therapists, they had started with the Kindergarten curriculum and worked up from there. The tutor had taken her up a grade level at a time until she found the areas where Kim began to struggle, then she'd called a halt to all the schoolwork early Friday afternoon, promising her mom to return on Monday and develop her curriculum from there.

"I like the teacher my mom hired." She explained, "And I like the fact that we're basically starting over and taking things from square one, but I overheard her telling mom that I probably won't be able to go back to school until next September."

"Well, maybe that's not such a bad thing…I mean, if it gets you caught up."

"Yeah, but what happens when Zedd attacks again?" Kim asked; surprising him with the question he was mulling over as well. "I mean, I can't jump up and ask to go to the bathroom or the nurse and not be missed when I don't come back right away. At least at school I could get lost in the crowd and then slip back in."

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it." He answered, and then looked up as her mom approached them.

"Kimberly, are you ready to check out dear?" She asked, giving Tommy a cautious look.

"Just a second mom, I ran into a friend from school."

"Oh?" her mom asked, regarding Tommy again. "I'm Kimberly's mother Mrs. Hart, and you are?"

"Tommy Oliver." Tommy answered coolly, He'd been chased off before by Kimberly's mom. When he'd first moved to Angel Grove and was new to the team. "We've met before, I came over to see Kim on Wednesday and then again yesterday afternoon."

"You did?" Kim asked, astonished. She'd been pouting all week that no one had come to see her and felt a surge of anger at the guilty look on her mom's face.

"Oh that's right." Kim's mother answered, brushing it off. "I'm so sorry, it's been a difficult week for us. You understand."

"Tommy came over to see me and you didn't tell me?" Kim asked in an accusing tone, standing up and approaching her mother.

"Kimberly…" her mother said in a placating tone that Kim had begun to despise, "This has been a very difficult week for all of us, you don't need strange boys coming over and confusing you even more."

"Tommy's not a strange boy." Kim said waspishly, causing Tommy to cringe a bit. That wasn't exactly a good tone to take with a parent, it usually got you grounded. "He's one of the few things in this world that I actually remember."

"How could you possibly remember a boy that you've never met before? That you've never even introduced to me? Honey I know all your friends. I'm not sure what this young man has told you, but he's not part of your group either at school or at the gymnastics center." Her mother countered firmly as if that was the silliest thing Kim had ever said. Then, in a softer tone that Tommy still clearly overheard. "Darling, you're confused, that's all. You don't include boys in your circle of friends. You're a very promising gymnast, that's all you have time for in your life until after the Pan Games."

"Yes, I am confused," Kim countered, the extreme frustrations of the past week overwhelming her. "Confused by you. Do you want to help me or not? I'm really not sure anymore. I've told you over and over, gymnastics is important to you, not me. Tommy's my friend. How could you say you've never met him before when he's been to the house twice this week to see me?"

"Kimberly, we'll discuss this after you've had a chance to recover and remember who and what you are." Her mother said firmly.

"No, I'm sick of you trying to cram that life back down my throat when I don't want it. I want to live my own life, not the shadow of some stranger I don't remember."

"Kimberly…"

"I finally have a friend that I actually remember and who wants to help me and you're acting as if he's some sort of monster that I need to be protected from. I'm not a robot that you can just reprogram back to the way you want me; with your ideas and your feelings and your wants and needs. I'm a free thinking person. Maybe I'm not the person you want and are trying so desperately to get back, but I'm the one you're stuck with." Her voice had taken on a hysterical edge and Tommy stood up, but forced himself not to interfere.

"Kimberly Ann Hart, that attitude is completely uncalled for." Her mother admonished. "We are here, in this store, for you. All this family has done, for more than a week, is to help you. We have all put our lives on hold to make yours a little better and a little easier until you can recover from this. How dare you suggest that we don't have your best interest at heart."

"Because you don't." Kim said firmly, astonishing both Tommy and her mother. "You don't care about me at all… all you care about is getting the old Kimberly back as quickly as possible so you can get back to your nice ordered life. Well you know what? She's not coming back. I'm not her …I don't want to be her."

"How dare you talk to me that way." Her mother gasped.

"Just leave me alone." Kim said, throwing her book down and storming out of the store.

"This is your doing." Her mother hissed, glaring at Tommy.

"No mam." Tommy said softly. "I just sat down to ask a friend how she was doing."

* * *

"Ai yi yi" Alpha cried as Kimberly's form faded from the viewing globe. "That didn't go very well."

"I have anticipated this." Zordon responded calmly. "The Power resonates differently in this Kimberly from our own. Her life experiences and choices have matured her beyond her years, but she is still very much an adolescent. Even at her young age, she is accustomed to independence and it is to be expected that she might interpret parental guidance as unwelcome domination. I believe the time has come for us to interfere with her transition. Transport her immediately back to the Power Chamber."

* * *

When Kim ran from the bookstore, her little brother followed her. He'd never seen that kind of an outburst from his sister. On the one hand it was awesome, but the on the other, it was also kind of scary. His sister was always the perfect little prima donna; everybody's favorite. True, she could be an outright witch to him, but she'd never, ever, mouth off to their mother. She always did what their mother and grandmother said, whether she wanted to or not, and always got held up as the best example for him to follow. He followed her as she ran down the mall and slipped into a service hallway where he could hear her talking to someone, but couldn't tell who. Taking a risk at getting caught, and possibly pummeled, he snuck a peak around the corner just in time to see her disappear in a flash of pink light.

* * *

"Zordon I'm sorry." Kim said, her voice heavy with emotion. "I just can't take it anymore."

"Your mother is trying her best to help you through a very difficult time." Zordon said in an even, soothing tone. "You must also have patience with her and allow her to adjust to changes she cannot understand and must learn to adapt to as well."

"She's not my mother. This isn't even my world. I'm never going to fit in here." Kim said defiantly.

"I understand." Zordon said evenly, "However you must learn to accept this world as your own, for you have nowhere else to go and this world desperately needs you. I am very proud of the adjustments you have already made and your strength and maturity in working to overcome an overwhelming situation. It was never assumed that this substitution would be an easy one, but you must understand that you are not alone in your struggle with change. Your family is also experiencing a transitional period and you must give them the same patience and understanding you are demanding of them. Our Kimberly was older than you are, but you have proven yourself far more adaptable and mature. I have no doubts that the strength and convictions you developed on your world will be an incredible asset to the Rangers and to this world, but you must complete the changeover in your home life before you can successfully resume your duties as a Ranger."

"Zordon, everything she talks about revolves around getting back to gymnastics and preparing for the Pan Games. She doesn't care a whit that I failed everything in school, she wants me back in the gym. She's arranging for the tutor to come only three hours a day so I can spend eight to ten hours getting back into training."

"Gymnastics was the sole focus of your predecessor. It would be natural for her mother to direct you back to an arena where her daughter was the most comfortable."

"But that's just it…it was all a lie. The first thing I did after that disaster at school was to read Kimberly's diaries. I thought they would explain things to me. She hated her life….Power preserve me, she was killing herself to please her mom. There were jars and jars of vomit stored in her room; under the bed, in her closet, in her toy chest under the dolls. I couldn't stand the smell anymore so I snuck them out and threw them in a construction dumpster. She was so loaded up on amphetamines to control the hunger, she was terrified you'd find out and take her morpher. Her mom had spent tens of thousands of dollars on her to get her where she was…and all she wanted to do was crawl in a hole somewhere and not come out."

"Ay yi yi…Zordon, this is terrible!" Alpha exclaimed, robotic hands coming to rest on either side of his silver head. "We had no idea, did we?"

"Unfortunately, I did." Zordon said sadly and Kim gaped at him in astonishment. "Her body mass index on the morphin grid and subsequent bio scans revealed what she was trying so carefully to hide from me."

"And you didn't help her?" Kim accused.

"There was very little I could do." Zordon responded evenly.

"Of course there was!" Kim all but yelled, frustrations once again overwhelming her. "You could have counseled her, helped her….done something to stop her."

"Our Kimberly was not yet ready to hear the advice I had to offer and unwilling to seek counsel from me. I cannot offer guidance to someone who is disinclined to listen."

"Then you could have taken her morpher, gotten her attention that way, told her to shape up or lose her powers."

"Such advice would not have been productive." Zordon said evenly. "Your morphing powers appear to be of great value to you. However, our Kimberly would have easily relinquished her morpher to achieve the other goals and objectives she was seeking."

"She might have surprised you." Kim said indignantly, "She was desperate for a way out. It was her mother's dream not hers. She tried over and over to quit and her mother would get angry and ask her if she had any idea how much the family had spent on her, and had given up for her, and how unfair it was for her to just quit on them."

"I understand your anger Kimberly. Yes, there was the possibility that I might, as you have suggested, been surprised by her choices." Zordon agreed. "However, our Kimberly was not mature enough to stand against the parental authority in her life and I am not in a position to have demanded her to. She wished to please them and would have used the opportunity to leave the Rangers to that advantage. By keeping her as the pink Ranger, I was in a much better position to help her, both physically and mentally, to eventually make the correct life choices."

"And if she starved herself to the point where she couldn't fight?"

"That outcome was considered, and preparations had been put in place, but that scenario did not manifest itself. Instead, Thomas bought you to our dimension. I view the ending of our Kimberly's life force with great sadness, but also with great hope for the future of this world. You are, in many ways, a strong and capable young woman. I have no doubt that this will translate through to your duties as a Ranger. When the time comes for you to enter into battle, you will be a great asset to this Ranger team, but I must now re-direct you to my original purpose in bringing you here. You must come to grips with the transitions in your life outside the Power Chamber. Until this is accomplished you place both the Rangers and this world at risk."

Kim turned from him and stomped her foot despite herself. She wanted to go home, wanted her old life back so bad she could smash something, but that just wasn't possible. Home was long gone and there was nothing for her there except certain death. She knew what she had to do, but it just wasn't as simple as that. She had wanted her family back so much, but now that she had them…it wasn't what she'd expected.

Zordon watched the young version of Kimberly wrestle silently with her emotions. She was so much stronger than the version born to their world that it was almost laughable. He understood what Thomas saw in her and had a great deal of confidence that she'd eventually be able to overcome the switch, but it would take time. Time they didn't have to spare. A replacement had already been chosen for their Kimberly before she'd been killed by Kemora, but despite the efforts he'd put into seeing Katherine brought to Angel Grove, he was beginning to believe that this new Kimberly was the better choice. She was incredibly tenacious for her young age and it would be interesting to see how the situation played out. There was also Tommy's fascination with the alternate. That could also prove beneficial in the years to come; he would simply have to wait and see.

As Zordon watched her calmly from his power tube above her, Kim tried desperately to get a hold of her emotions. "Tell me what I have to do." She said at last, turning and looking up at him in defeat. "My Zordon never steered me wrong. Tell me what I have to do that I haven't done."

Zordon didn't get a chance to answer her. The alarm went off, signaling that Zedd had begun his next attack. "Alpha transport the Rangers immediately to the Power Chamber." He said calmly. Then, to Kim he added, "It seems you must now shift your focus towards integrating with your new team. Are you ready for this challenge?"

"Trust me Zordon." Kim said, a gleam of excitement in her eyes. "This is exactly what I need right now."


	6. Chapter 6: Hello Alice part 2

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter Six: Hello Alice : Part 2

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_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney._

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**_

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When Tommy transported into the Power Chamber and saw Kim already there, he wasn't sure if he was relieved or annoyed. It made sense; she'd simply disappeared after leaving the bookstore and no one in the mall could seem to find her. "Your mom is seriously freaking out." He said, walking up to her. She seemed surprised, then shrugged her shoulder as if she didn't care. He was about to say something else about taking off the way she did, but Zordon cut him off.

"I'm afraid we have no more time for this discussion," He said calmly, but firmly from his power tube.

"What discussion?" Aisha asked as the other three teleported in, but they turned and didn't answer her.

"Zedd has sent down his newest monster, Shigrin…" Zordon informed the teens. "An evil feline with the power of invisibility an affinity for practical jokes. Do not underestimate this creature, for it is very powerful and very evil."

The clouds within the viewing globe parted and the teens turned to see a large purple cat-like monster with pink stripes and a huge, vicious grin on his face. Next to him stood Goldar and the two watched with glee as putties harassed people in the park.

"Great…" Kim remarked dryly as the large monster breathed pink smoke over the crowd. The people contorted violently and disappeared. "I hate cats…" She muttered. The others looked at her quizzically, but she didn't offer any explanations.

"It appears that Shigrin has the ability to transport his victims into the evil dimensions left behind by Rita. You must teleport to the surface and distract the monster long enough for Alpha to discover a way to bring the civilians back, but be very careful to avoid inhaling the smoke he produces."

"Ai yi yi…" Alpha spoke up, "Zordon, if the Rangers are transported away by that smoke, Earth will be left undefended."

"What do we do Zordon?" Tommy asked, turning from the viewing globe to look up at the great master.

"I may have a solution…" Billy volunteered hesitantly and they turned to look at him. "I've been toying with the filtration systems in our suits…after the seafood monster we encountered a few weeks ago…I thought perhaps I could emphasize the ionic filtration modules to more effectively eliminate noxious odors and purge the air systems of hazardous fumes…it's not been fully tested, and I can't guarantee it's ready for implementation, but I do know it won't interfere with the current systems already in place."

"So we'll still get oxygen, but you don't know if the thing will actually prevent the smoke from getting through?" Kim asked and Billy nodded at her. "I say it's worth a try." She said and Billy beamed at her, a small blush creeping up his neck. The other Kimberly had never taken him seriously or tried to understand him, this one seemed to have much more faith in his abilities.

"I agree with Kim. It's worth a try." Tommy said. "How long before you can get it in place?"

Billy approached the main control panel and carefully pushed Alpha aside. Rapidly keying in several sequences and shutting down various alarms, he said, "I'm re-programming the morphing sequences now to acknowledge and accept the data banks of my prototype…" After a few seconds of silent concentration, he looked up with a triumphant grin. "That did it, the new sequences have been accepted and the main terminal is currently re-calibrating. We should automatically be given the new filtration systems when we morph next."

"And if we're not?" Aisha asked skeptically.

"We'll find out soon enough." Tommy said. "Okay guys, let's do this…It's morphin time!"

* * *

Within seconds of morphing, the six teens were in the park and facing Goldar and the monster. Goldar growled and shook his sword, "Rangers…it took you long enough to join the fight. I was beginning to think you were too scared to come out and play…" 

"It depends on the game Goldar." Tommy shouted. "Return the civilians." He demanded.

"I don't think so.' Goldar called back. "They're currently enjoying a unique form of torture in one of Lord Zedd's dark dimensions. Something called… croquet. This is the same place where the six of you will soon be doomed for all eternity!"

"They never want to do it the easy way, do they?" Kim drolled, coming up beside Tommy and taking up a fighting stance. He grinned at her from beneath his helmet, pleased to see she wasn't all talk. The last Kimberly had never run from a fight, but she was never exactly up front with him either. It was kind of nice and he smiled in anticipation, but at the same time a very unfamiliar knot found its way into his stomach. The last battle they'd fought had cost their Kimberly her life. He was suddenly very unsure he wanted the new Kim anywhere near the danger zone.

"Oh look…" Goldar sneered back… "The little pink Ranger speaks! Lord Zedd thought the demon managed to kill you off, but now I hear you only had you tiny brain rattled. Don't tell me it actually made you a little braver. Then again, a tiny bit braver than total coward isn't saying much is it?"

"Come a little closer Goldie." Kim shot back, "I'll show you exactly what demonic possession taught me."

Goldar lunged forward and Kim prepared to face him head on, but suddenly Tommy was in front of her and taking Goldar on himself. "Keep the monster busy." He called over his shoulder, and with that, the mêlée began in earnest, with the putties moving forward to keep the Rangers well away from the monster.

She froze momentarily, her Tommy would have never jumped in front of her like that and for an instant, she wasn't sure if she was hurt or pissed. She told herself that this Tommy didn't know her, didn't know what she was capable of, but it didn't help much. For an moment, and only a moment, insecurity nibbled away at her. This was her forte, the one place where she was the happiest, she knew every aspect of her team's fighting styles, knew how to merge with each and every one of them…but this wasn't her team. This team was used to working with a very different Kimberly; one who apparently was everything she wasn't.

A few seconds later the putties were on top of her. She'd lost valuable time with her misgivings and had to back-flip several times to avoid them. Coming to a stop next to Billy, she coordinated her moves around his attack and soon the two were working easily with one another.

The fight went well, with putties evaporating left and right, but even after several minutes they couldn't seem to get close to the monster. Each time they tried, it would turn invisible and the next thing they knew it would be on the other side of the field laughing manically at them, or pushing them down, or sticking it's leg out to trip them. At one point, Kim managed to get close enough to be consumed in pink smoke, but Billy's filters held and she didn't transport. Startled, the monster froze and simply stared at her, slowly turning invisible so that only the white teeth of its fangs showed clearly in the afternoon sunlight.

"Hello Alice…" it purred. "Feeling a little lost lately are we?"

Kim charged forward, bow drawn and shooting arrows as quickly as she could. But the arrows fell dead in space, exploding harmlessly, and when the monster appeared again, it had turned from them and was off chasing what few civilians remained in the park.

"This is getting us nowhere." Kim muttered, kicking the Z plate of a putty who jumped in front of her and gulping down a few good breaths of air as it fell apart. She picked her bow up from the ground where it had dropped and dusted it off. "Nowhere but tired out."

"I concur." Billy said, finishing off the putty next to him and coming to join Kim. "It's invisibility shield appears to be our greatest deterrent."

" We can't fight what we can't see." Rocky said, maneuvering over and joining their group. Kim swore bitterly and the blue and red Ranger looked over at her in surprise.

"Sorry.." she said lamely. "Forgot what dimension I was in."

"Anyone have any bright ideas?" Aisha asked.

The putties were gone and as the five re-grouped under an elm tree, Kim turned and saw Goldar teleport up and away from the battle. Within a few seconds Tommy trotted over to them. "Putties and Goldar down, that leaves one monster to go." He said.

"Yeah, but how?" Adam asked. I had at least four good shots at it and every time it just disappeared."

"You're not the only one." Rocky said. "I saw all of us go after it at one point or another…even Kimberly."

"Gee thanks…that was so nicely said." Kim snarled. She'd worked her butt off and gotten closer to the monster than any of them.

"What?" Rocky shot back. "It's not like the pink ranger ever did anything more than provide backup and whine about her nails. I meant it as a compliment you actually fought some today."

"I'm not your pink Ranger!" Kim shouted.

"That's obvious." Billy said from behind her and quickly raised both hands in defense when Kim turned and lunged toward him. "I meant it as a flattering remark…your fighting skills are quite extraordinary…there is marked difference in both technique and the deployment of strategy and reasoning."

"Guys," Tommy interjected, purposely moving in-between Kim and Rocky and pulling Kim a few steps away from Billy. "Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to get us anywhere. We're all frustrated." He said keeping his hand on her arm, he didn't have to, but he did anyway. His fingers wrapped easily around the tiny arm with room to spare and he realized that she was smaller than their Kimberly had been, at least, he thought she was smaller. Petite as she was, she was thousand times feistier… and she made his heart beat a thousand times faster. Mentally, he shook his head, what was wrong with him? This was Kimberly, a fellow Ranger, not some pretty new skirt at school.

Billy was right though, she definitely wasn't their Kimberly. He'd only managed a few glances while he'd been kept busy with Goldar, but from what he'd seen, she was no silly pink Ranger. More than once he'd been tempted to turn and physically run to her when she'd been knocked down, but each time, she'd rebounded and charged back into the fight again. "This is different for all of us, it's just like the last time we adjusted to new team members." He said, turning to face the red, yellow and black Rangers individually. "We can do it, it's just going to take time and we have to be willing to accept the changes and run with them for what they are." His communicator beeped and he let go of Kim's arm to answer it. "Go ahead Alpha."

"Ai yi yi…Rangers, Zordon has discovered Shigrin's weakness."

"That's great Alpha, what do we have to do?"

"Unfortunately, only the arrowheads from the pink Power Bow will penetrate and destroy the monster. Kimberly must successfully discharge at least three down the monster's mouth and into his central processing core. Once destroyed, the citizens of Angel Grove should be released from Zedd's dimensional prison."

"Is that all?" Adam said sarcastically and the Rangers turned as a group to the newest pink Ranger.

"Can you do it?" Tommy asked. He wasn't doubting her, but he wasn't going to take chances either. There was no way the old Kimberly could have accomplished something like that. She'd have frozen and he would have had no qualms about taking her weapon and completing the mission himself. Pretty eyes or no, he'd also step in and take over for the alternate if she fumbled; their mission was too important.

"Not a problem." Kim said confidently.

"Are you sure?' He asked, even though he was more than pleased by her certainty.

"Of course I am." She snapped, resenting what she assumed was a lack of confidence. "It's no different than a monster I fought on my own world. I didn't need three arrows that time, but it's the same technique. I can do it, I just need to know where I'm shooting."

"That's the six million dollar question isn't it?" Aisha asked. " I mean, what are we supposed to do wonder around until it pops up again?"

"Wander." Adam corrected softly. "Wander around..."

"Wonder…" Kim said softly, thinking out loud. "Wonderland! That's what's been nagging at me."

"What's that?' Tommy asked, turning around to face her.

"Wonderland…the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland…the book I was reading at the mall. Zedd must have been spying on me. Shigrin called me Alice and asked if I was feeling lost. He's a cat, well sort of, and a cat that disappears completely except for his teeth…his teeth stayed clearly visible the last time I got close to him…he must have been smiling at me, not snarling. If we can get him to smile, or better yet laugh, I can easily get three shots down his throat!"

"What are we supposed to do? Walk around Angel Grove Park quoting gum wrappers?" Rocky asked.

"So that's where you get those jokes…trust me, that's not gonna make him laugh." Aisha said.

"What about laughing gas?" Adam asked and the Rangers turned to him. "One of the first monsters we fought when we transferred powers shot out laughing gas…can't we make something like that?"

"The level of difficulty would be minimal." Billy said. "The new filtration system should shield us and I can't foresee any adverse side effects to any civilians who might accidentally face exposure…other than uncontrollable spasmodic sound emissions."

"Huh?" Kim asked.

"Laughter." Billy clarified and she nodded at him.

"How long do you need Billy?" Tommy asked.

"A few minutes at most. I believe I saw some spare canisters in the lower caverns of the Power Chamber. Rigging the correct nozzles and obtaining the proper form of gas from storage won't take long either…perhaps a few minutes of delay if we need to synthesize more to fill the tanks…but, in short, not long at all."

"Then let's go for it. Back to the Power Chamber guys!"

* * *

Billy was right, it took only a few minutes for the boys to dig out the canisters and outfit them with the right equipment. Within half an hour, five out of six Rangers were combing through Angel Grove Park, spraying every bush and tree with a particularly strong form of laughing gas found only on Eltar and synthetically reproduced by Alpha and Billy. Zordon assured them the idea was a sound one, but after nearly an hour of spraying, the only things that had succumb to the gas were a spying Bulk and Skull who were quickly given the antidote and shooed away. 

Finally, just as they were running out of the gas and Tommy was about to call a halt and plan something else, Rocky discharged the last of the purple smoke in his canister over his shoulder and Shigrin broke out into hysterical laughter directly above him.

"Guys!" Rocky called triumphantly as the suspended white fangs opened and closed with each uproarious outburst, but the Rangers were already rushing towards him. From seemingly nowhere, the pink Ranger leapt in front of them and quickly fired four arrows quickly in succession from her bow. All four hit their mark and Shigrin exploded in a fury of purple fur, but not before knocking the pink Ranger half way across the field. The Rangers turned as a pack to help her, but she brushed them off, pointing to where Shigrin had risen sixty feet into the air.

"It's not over yet guys." She said breathlessly, limping and holding her shoulder.

"Yeah, but thanks to you we're more than halfway there. Good job Kim." Tommy said, just before he called for the zords.

* * *

As Thomas watched the alternate Kimberly fight her first battle with her new team, a slight smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. It had worked. Most importantly, no one had noticed why it worked. Transplanting people interdimensionally was done all the time. It was just that adults weren't usually the ones transplanted. 

Thomas had worked on this particular timeline for a very long time. He specialized in repairing the dimensions where the resident Kimberly had been killed by Kemora. The problem was though, there was very little he could do. In nearly all the worlds where Kimberly had been killed by the demon, the dimension eventually turned to a blue line; where evil reigned supreme. Although a green, or good dimension, was something he always strived for and was very happy to see, blue was not a bad thing either; it maintained the stable the balance of good and evil. For every dimension devoted to good, there had to be an equal and opposite devoted to evil. This was the core of the principles they operated under. Stability was the goal, not whether good or evil triumphed.

However, Thomas had been at this for a very long time and had the distinct feeling that the other side, for lack of a better word, was cheating. This particular timeline, just before and after the Zordon wave, was particularly important. It was one of the few times in history that things could really go either way. It was just too convenient that all the worlds Kemora visited turned to evil. Things were just not that simple. Yet, as each Kimberly was removed, the tendency seemed to favor a darker outcome. He was almost positive it wasn't Kimberly herself, but something associated with her. Her presence seemed to smooth things out, to inspire others around her, but it wasn't solely her.

This particular period was a known cornerstone to turn the future decades in the direction they needed to go. Unfortunately, it had been manipulated on both sides to the point where he wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't, but he had a theory; especially in the timeline that involved Kimberly and Tommy. He had lived that timeline; had loved and lost his Kimberly and their son. It was a personal obsession with him to go back and watch the others progress.

Kimberly was always born a twin and Tommy was also born a twin… and both were born within a few weeks of each other. He knew, because he himself was intimately involved with the process, that Tommy and David were placements; which meant that they were specifically placed in a given time period for a given reason. But that still left the choice of which name to be given to which infant up to chance.

The Tommy always became a Ranger and the David always became a spiritual guardian. That was a given and because that was the desired result, no one ever looked twice at it. However twin A repeatedly always had a preference for Kimberly as a pink Ranger and twin B repeatedly had a preference for Katherine as a pink Ranger. That was a minor outcome that no one really thought twice about and had caused him a great deal of lecturing about his priorities when he'd mentioned it to his former mentors, but it had given Thomas quite a good reason to pause. He had lost his Kimberly and at first hadn't been able to understand how the Tommys could love anyone else if their Kimberlys were still alive. That was what had initially spurred his investigations…if only to satisfy his own morbid curiosity.

However, after several centuries and too many dimensions to count, he'd mapped a pattern of sorts. Where Tommy fell in love with Kat, Kimberly died. A minor footnote, true, but those seemed to be the worlds that Kemora targeted most. It couldn't be by chance.

With Kimberly, his findings were a little more difficult to decipher…until just recently. Kimberly was a twin who, in most worlds, lost her identical sister at birth. As all survivors were named Kimberly, no one thought anything of it. However the alternate's twin hadn't perished at birth, but had survived. This had given Thomas a chance travel back in time to study the two and mark their differences. Where twin A survived, she became a strong Ranger who was not unlike K or the alternate he'd transplanted. Those worlds faired markedly better than those where twin B survived to become Kimberly at birth. Twin B tended to be more self centered and far more prissy than twin A. Twin A also had a preference for Tommy, where twin B did not.

Those were minor facts, but he had the distinct feeling that those insignificant details played a big role in the larger outcome. If he was right, and he was pretty sure he was, the DG was being skillfully sabotaged from within, both through Kemora and in the placements of those twins. Proving it would be impossible, but, by watching how the alternate succeeded, he thought he just might have an equally subtle way of fixing the situation.

* * *

"Lord Zedd, I offer no excuses for the failure today." Goldar groveled, keeling in submission at his lord's feet. 

"I would accept none you overgrown buffoon!" Zedd hissed. "You were beaten once again…and this time by the little pink Ranger…possibly the weakest of them all!"

"It appears she is still possessed by the demon." Goldar offered lamely, thinking of how easily Kemora had beat the life out of him. He still hadn't fully recovered, perhaps that was why he'd been so easily beaten during this battle. He had expected to find the Rangers weakened, still shaken from their encounter with the demon, but instead they seemed much stronger.

"You fool! Zordon would never allow any evil being into his Power Chamber…yet still, there is something different about her that bears investigation."

"I am at your service my lord." Goldar demurred.

"Idiot! I would sooner send a worm than you for a mission of this delicacy. No, I will have to think long and hard if I am to determine what the changes in the pink Ranger truly mean…"

"My lord…you are so wise..so cunning…so..."

"Oh shut up and leave my sight you moronic piece of metal and monkey! Out! Before I strip you of your wings again!"

"Yes my lord…"

Zedd sat in silence upon his throne. Something wasn't quite right. Somehow the balance maintained by the struggle between himself and Zordon on the morphin grid and been very subtly altered. It was more than just one little girl deciding she had fight in her. It was as if she'd been replaced with a completely different being. Zedd pondered the possibilities, finally deciding none of them seemed to favor him a good outcome…whatever it was, he'd root it out and destroy it as he'd destroyed every other impediment to his victory. The tide would turn again, and when it did, he'd be waiting.


	7. Chapter 7: What's Normal Anyway?

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter Seven: What's Normal Anyway?

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to __Saban and __Disney._

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Kim slid down a little further in the front passenger seat as both her parents continued to scream at each other outside the car. Well, they weren't really her parents, they were the other Kimberly's parents. Zordon had warned her to stop thinking that way, but it wasn't like she could just turn off a switch.

If she had thought Zordon would grant her silent wish to simply hide from life and live at the Power Chamber, she was wrong. She'd had to go back to the house and face her mom. She'd refused to apologize and any relief her new mom felt over her safe return was short lived as Kim disintegrated into a full fledged teenage tantrum, complete with railing at the universe that no one understood her and the slamming of her bedroom door. She'd then proceeded to paint black stripes down her bubblegum pink nails and put on enough eyeliner to make even herself cringe.

Baffled, the next day her mother had arranged for an emergency meeting between a Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Family Therapist, and Minister at her Grandmother's house and forced not only Kim, but her brother and her estranged father to attend as well. Kim had toned down the eyeliner a bit, but basically donned gothic black from head to toe; telling herself that the thin pink stripes left on her nails were enough of a nod to her uniform.

Not really the personality type to seriously rebel, she wasn't really sure what she was doing, but she did know it was driving her new mom as insane as she herself felt; and there was a great deal of morbid satisfaction in that. For two hours, she'd remained mute as the professionals tried to elicit how she was feeling.

In her mind it was ludicrous. No one could understand how she was feeling nor could she ever confide in anyone or attempt to explain it. She was lost in a strange world where she didn't belong and she had brutally murdered the only friends and family she'd had on her own world. Even the knowledge that Kemora had controlled her body, that she couldn't have stopped the death and destruction if she'd tried, did not comfort her in the dead of night when the echoed memories of her old life assaulted her.

The other Kimberly also haunted her. Kim felt her creepy and resentful presence every time she entered the house; there was nowhere to run from it. She'd scream at her each night in her dreams, call her a murderer, a pathetic fraud, all sorts of venomous names until Kim sprang awake, gasping for air and seemingly choking from the other girl's hands closed around her throat. It was haunting and terrifying and Kim had had enough of the frilly pink room; dreading every moment she shut herself away in it.

She had thought that, once she got back into battle, things would be well again with her, but they weren't. Rocky was cold and distant after the monster's destruction and reminded everyone at least twenty times the previous day that he was the one who had found Shigrin. He insisted that Kim would never have been able to get her arrows down the monster if he hadn't found him first and sprayed him with the laughing gas. It was to the point that even Aisha and Adam groaned when he started up on it.

Tommy was acting weird too. Far from praising her for her performance, it was like a sudden wall had sprung up between them. She didn't understand it. He was acting weird and edgy around her and had barely said a word to her the rest of the day. He would stare at her when he thought she wasn't looking and made a huge point of avoiding her eyes whenever she looked his way. It hurt to have her only real friend in this world avoiding her; especially since she didn't know what she'd done wrong.

Both Aisha and Billy had warmed up considerably, but all of it was different from the way it had been and Kim thought she'd go completely mad with all the new variances in her life. She wanted to sleep, to just shut life and all it's craziness away for a while, but even that simple activity was apparently too much to ask for. So she had sat stoically through the meeting while her mom railed about her odd behavior, answering questions with a nod of the head or in short, blunt, one word answers; foot tapping rhythmically in annoyance from time to time.

The only good thing that had come out of the late Sunday afternoon meeting was that the professionals, the minister, and her dad shocked her by apparently taking her side. The old Kimberly was gone and all of them had to adjust to the new Kimberly who was now with them. All agreed that her mother couldn't hold her to the same standards, rules and regulations previously enforced and she needed to accept that Kim's apparent personality change was probably permanent.

New rules needed to be created based on what Kim wanted now, not what she had wanted before the accident. They should be worked through immediately or more of her odd, rebellious behavior was likely to surface. There would be new rules for schoolwork and more time for friends; even boys. Best of all, gymnastics was completely on hold. Kim, in turn, agreed to be civil and to work with her mom.

The professionals agreed that, over a series of sessions, all involved also sit down and formulate a new set of goals based on what Kim wanted for her life now. Her astonishing hidden talent for art and love of plants and gardening should be allowed to develop and used as a reward for good behavior both in the home and with her schoolwork. Her mother had also agreed to set up private counseling for herself to help deal with Kim's new personality and, whether he wanted to or not, her mother had signed her brother up for several sessions as well.

But the tension in her life was hardly over. Right now her parents were engaged in a screaming match outside the car over who was more to blame for Kim's sudden angry outbursts; her mother, who was being blamed for not taking enough care of her to prevent the accident, or her father, who wasn't around enough and was absent when the attack happened.

Kim didn't have many warm and fuzzy feelings towards her own father and was cautiously optimistic about this new one; if only because he'd agreed with her that the gymnastics schedule was insane. The dad she had left behind on her world could have really cared less about her. He'd run off on them just after her brother was born and had refused to care for her after her mom's death. She had gone to live with her dad's father after that and had a pretty good life up on his ranch, but he had passed away just over a year later; leaving Kim to grieve for her only family once again.

Her dad had shown up shortly after her grandfather's will was read and made a big show of taking her back, but when her Uncle Steven had refused to give him control over her inheritance, he'd taken off again. She'd seen him maybe twice in the three years she'd hopped from relative to relative and not once after the Campbell's had taken her in. She hoped maybe this version might be a little nicer, but by the way her parents were screaming at each other outside the car, she doubted it.

"Do they honestly think we can't hear them?" Her brother complained from the back seat where he was sorting baseball cards.

"We're supposed to have the radio going." Kim sighed.

"Like that would help." He responded sarcastically. His sorting apparently complete, he snapped the lid closed on the bright blue plastic storage container and leaned forward. "I saw you at the mall yesterday." He said matter of factly. Kim turned and gave him a measuring look.

"Of course you did, the three of us rode together." She said as if that was too stupid of a question to answer. She had read enough of her predecessor's diaries to know how the other Kimberly treated her brother. She honestly thought they might be able to be closer than that, but she knew that was a tone he was used to responding to.

"I meant after, when you ran off. I saw you duck down the hallway and call someone on your wrist watch. Then it was this kind of _beam me up Scotty_ kind of thing and the lights went blamo..." He said in an exaggerated voice, "..and like, went all..whoa…" His fingers squirmed around and indicated wiggly stuff all over his body, "And then you were gone…and that's why no one could find you. 'Cause you beamed out somewhere."

"Have you been inhaling your model airplane glue again?" She asked, deadpan, and he scrunched up his nose and face in a smartass look.

"Nice try, but I saw what I saw. So what are you? Some kind of alien invader who came to Earth and took over my sister's body like a body snatcher or something?"

"Huh?" Kim asked, startled and for a moment unable to formulate a good answer. "That just…that's just…" She couldn't answer, her brother was far closer to the truth of the matter than he realized.

"Not that I'm complaining." Her brother rambled on. "I mean, alien invader or not, you're way nicer than my sister could ever hope to be."

"You are seriously weird." Kim answered dismissively. She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest as if to signal the end of the conversation. She didn't want to talk about this. She needed to give him some sort of an answer, fast, but she just couldn't think of one that would explain the transport beam.

"So what planet are you from?" He pressed and she whipped around to face him again.

"Earth you moron." She said, taking a tone she knew the other Kimberly had used often with him. "Unfortunately, _I am_ your sister ok? As much as I can't remember all the little twerpy things my diary says you've done to me, I am one hundred percent human and very definitely genetically your sister. Understand?"

"Then how do you explain the ghost?" He asked, not budging for an instant on his alien theory.

"What ghost?" She asked, frowning at him, but a distinct chill crept up her back, through her spine and settled in her shoulders. Maybe he was having the same dreams she was. She dismissed the thought as quickly as it came to her, but the unsettling feeling didn't entirely leave her subconscious.

"The ghost that's come into my room every night since you've come home and told me there's an imposter in her bed and that I have to tell mom to get you out of her room." He answered matter of factly, grinning at her incredulous look.

"What?!" Kim shrieked, going more than a little pale. She'd lamented to Tommy that the memory of the other Kimberly was haunting her, but she'd never actually thought of it as a real ghost…but Tommy had admitted he was seeing the other Kimberly in his nightmares too. If Michael could see her as well, maybe there really was a ghost.

Kim knew that Kemora stole the life energy from the Kimberlys she possessed, perhaps some of that energy survived or maybe Kemora had failed to completely steal the other Kimberly's soul and it was wandering around in this dimension wondering what had happened to it. The thought terrified her as much as it fascinated her. She'd have to ask Zordon.

"You've seen it too, haven't you?" He brother pressed, leaning even closer into the front seat and glowing in triumph at the shocked look on his sister's face.

"I…I…" Kim stammered, but just then, her communicator went off.

"I knew it!" Her brother crowed. "You _are_ an alien!" He shouted.

"Calm down." Kim said in an annoyed tone. "I'm most definitely not an alien." She said, trying in vain to shut off the sing-song chirping. "It's just an alarm on my watch."

"Bull." He said firmly in the same tone.

"Look, I gotta go. Don't get your imagination all twisted."

"You don't want me telling everyone around me that you're an alien, right? Then tell me the truth. What happened to you yesterday in the mall?" He pressed.

"You tell everyone I'm an alien and they'll just think you're doing it to get attention. Face it, no one's gonna believe you." She responded.

"That's why I got proof." He answered smugly.

"You have what?" She asked softly, hesitation creeping into her voice despite her best efforts.

"The mall has security cameras in those hallways. The mall security guards took us up to their office to go look. It didn't take much figuring out what camera was gonna show us what, so I took the tape while they were busy looking at the one that showed the bookstore and replaced it with another one."

"Excuse me?" Kim hissed.

"I'm pretty smart for an eleven year old." He said smugly. "That's the problem with adults, they still think you're a kid and you don't know nothing. I took the tape home in my backpack and sure enough, it's on there. All those wiggly lines and then poof…no sister. Now what you were saying?" He added smugly, "About the whole beam-out thing?"

"And despite the fact that you _stole_ a security tape, you didn't bother to tell anybody?" She said skeptically.

"Hey, I got my reasons. I haven't told anyone…._yet_…"

Kim slid back in her seat with a frustrated sigh. There was no point in denying it anymore, but if Michael had seen her and had her on tape, but hadn't told anyone, she might be able to recruit him to help her; that didn't mean she had to tell him everything though.

"All you saw was what's called a transportation beam. The Power Rangers said I could come back and they'd help me any time I was having too much difficulty re-adjusting." She said, sticking as close to the truth as she could. "I had a panic attack yesterday in the bookstore and I asked them to help me understand what's going on. That's about as fantasmic as the story gets…sorry to disappoint you, but that's all there is to it." She said easily, just as her communicator chirped for a second time. She hit a button on the side and it stopped mid-ringtone.

"So why's that thing paging you and why do you have to go?" He countered. "If you only contact them to help you, seems to me they wouldn't exactly need to be contacting you…would they?"

"I honestly don't know." She said with a heavy sigh, silently vowing never to underestimate her younger sibling ever again. "Maybe they found a way to fix me and put me back the way I was." She said with an evil look; slightly please to notice it was him that paled significantly this time.

"Look, I gotta go. Can you cover for me?" She asked a little nicer, a slight pleading look in her eyes.

"You want _me_, to cover for _you_…" He said drolly.

"This time…and next time you need me to I'll cover for you." She said as seriously as she could, trying not to laugh at his utterly amazed look. "Just tell them I couldn't take the fighting outside and bolted."

"Yeah…ok." He said uneasily and she smiled and reached out to ruffle his hair, which caused him to frown even more.

"Good, now get back into the backseat." She directed with a swat of her hand.

"Why?" He asked.

"So that you don't get caught up in the beam." She said as if it was obvious. He frowned deeply at her, but slid back into the back seat with a thud. Simultaneously pressing two buttons on her communicator, she disappeared in a flash of pink light.

"She is so definitely an alien." Her brother, now alone in the car, muttered to himself.

* * *

Much to her disappointment Kimberly transported in last among the Rangers. Even before she had gone to live at the Power Chamber on her world, she always prided herself for being first on the scene. It had been fairly easy as no one really cared where she was or what she did. She was obviously going to have to get better at slipping away and making excuses.

"Nice of you to show up." Rocky said nastily and she made a face at him.

"I was stuck in the car with my brother and two parents." She responded waspishly. She'd always gotten along fine with her Rocky and the fact this one apparently didn't like her very much was just one more prickle on the cactus she'd been tied to.

"What's on your eyes?" Tommy asked, staring at her despite his resolve to treat her exactly like one of the others. It didn't work. Even with the heavy liner around her eyes and the black clothing, the site of her still made his stomach squirm in that really nice sort of way that made even Zedd and all his monsters seem not so bad. She turned to him and squared her shoulders, chin held up defiantly.

"Make-up." She said coldly. "Like it?"

"It's uhm…" He stumbled, taken aback. "It's uhm…"

From the opposite corner, Aisha leaned into Adam. "Ten bucks says she changes it to please him by tomorrow." She giggled.

"Ten bucks says he says he actually likes it." He responded quietly. They shook hands, trying hard not grin and give themselves away.

"It's uhm, kinda pretty. I like it." Tommy said uncertainly and Aisha groaned as Adam held out his hand for payment.

"Did you see me bring my purse along with me?" She asked testily. "Besides, the bet cancels itself out if she shows up tomorrow without all the black stuff." She added and Adam shrugged nonchalantly.

"Rangers." Zordon said from his Power Tube, calling them all to his attention. "Lord Zedd has activated a device known as a nases."

"What's a nases?" Kimberly asked before Tommy could speak up and he shifted uncomfortably. She glanced sideways at him, but otherwise showed no signs of acknowledging she'd interrupted him. He groaned inwardly, not because she had moved to the front where he usually stood and not because she had asked Zordon the same kind of question he usually asked, but because she was standing so close he could smell her shampoo and perfume.

Her head came just below his chin and the sweet smell of her was doing things to him that he seriously didn't want to think about in front of all his friends and Zordon. The intense physical reaction he had to her was completely mortifying and he gave himself a very firm mental kick and steeled himself against the sugary little thoughts that began to creep through his mind; things like touching her hair, having her lean a little closer to him, or leaning down to…he stopped and firmly jerked his attention back to the Power Chamber. He was a Ranger, the leader of the team, they had been called to the Power Chamber to do a job and he would do it. Kim was another Ranger and any wayward little thought he might indulge in was not only totally inappropriate, it was completely disrespectful.

"A nases is an ancient device used by interdimensional travelers." Zordon was explaining. "The laws of the universe govern that two identical beings cannot exist simultaneously in the same space at the same time. The nasis was used to supersede that law. Travelers such as Thomas would use it to travel through dimensional barriers and exist simultaneously with their alternates, but it could also be used to differentiate between alternates based on their morphanological signatures."

"That's convenient." Rocky said as the others nodded.

"Nothing good can come from Zedd's possession of this device. Under normal circumstances, I would not explain the uses or even the existence of such an instrument, its use was discontinued over ten thousand years ago, but you are all already aware that alternate dimensions exist and have a limited understanding of Thomas's role as a guardian among them. As I mentioned, these devices are no longer in use and all were reported to have been destroyed."

"Why is Zedd interested in revamping one then?" Tommy asked.

"I am unsure." Zordon responded honestly. "However I fear that he suspects that Kimberly is not as she appears. He may even have come to the conclusion that our new pink Ranger does not belong to this world. If that is the case and Zedd is able to determine and prove that Kimberly is, indeed, an alternate from another dimension, he will have the legal authority in the eyes of the continuum to demand her removal and even her immediate execution."

"So what do we do?" Kim asked, fear knotting in her stomach. She was not one to fear things she couldn't control, however she'd gone through far too much to give up on life now.

"That Zedd possesses such a machine is most distressing." Zordon continued. "They were discontinued and banned from use because of their abuse by the forces of evil. Zedd either wishes to determine the variances in the morphanological signatures between our two Kimberlys or he plans to use the machine for some kind of evil misdeed. We do not know for certain at this time what he plans, however none of the possibilities are encouraging."

"Abused how?" Kim asked. She had been with Thomas long enough to be pretty sure he didn't use one of the machines Zordon was showing them on the viewing globe, but he still traveled in and out of alternate universes with very little difficulty. If they were banned, she wondered how he could still do what he did.

"I can say only this." Zordon said solemnly. "The forces of evil used them to their own advantage more than ten thousand years ago, in effect changing the outcome of the universe in their favor. The result was so cataclysmic to the future that the Guardians were formed and sent back through time at regular intervals to repair and maintain the balance and order."

"Great." Rocky said sarcastically. "And now Zedd's found one."

"How long do we have?" Kim asked, hand unconsciously gripping her throat.

"I am unsure." Zordon said again. "But as I have said, the fact that he is in possession of such machinery is disturbing. Whatever his goal, we must find a way to destroy the nasis before he can utilize it. Tommy, Adam, Rocky, Aisha, you must return to your normal weekend activities and await further instructions. Kimberly, I will ask that you remain behind."

"Why does she get to stay?" Rocky asked.

"Rocky I understand your frustrations." Zordon answered calmly. "However now is not the time to discuss my reasoning. Kimberly is not of this world and I must take the steps necessary to ensure that Zedd does not discover this secret."

"And if he does?" Kimberly asked weakly.

"We must endeavor to prevent that outcome." Zordon responded.


	8. Chapter 8: Double Trouble Pt 1

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 8: Double Trouble: Part One.

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. _

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**_

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_**Author's note**__ For those of you who don't keep up with the blurbs on my bio page, The Alternate was originally __begun__ for my daughter KS. However, she has since lost interest in it and has stopped telling me what she wants __me __to do next. So, __now that she's not overseeing my chapters, __I'm veering off and taking the story in a very different direction...__ and __I think you'll see that this chapter reads a little differently from the others too__. Bear with me as I set up the__ new storyline and I promise to get things moving again very quickly.__ I hope you continue to enjoy it …Part two will be posted in a few days…KSuzie._

* * *

Tommy woke with an audible groan from the excruciatingly erotic dream that had gripped him for the third night in a row. Not that he was complaining, it was just that the focus of the fantasy was so totally inappropriate and embarrassing that he wasn't sure how to deal with the situation. 

Aisha was right, he had a massive crush on the Alternate. It had sprung out of nowhere, catching him totally off guard, and he honestly wasn't sure what to do about it. He was no stranger to girls, he'd liked them even when the other boys complained they were cootie ridden, but in all his sixteen years, his chest had never twisted up like this before.

He'd been attracted to his world's Kimberly, but it had never gone anywhere. He had probably put up with a lot more of her antics than Jason had, simply because of that attraction, but his former teammate had made it very clear that she wasn't interested in pursuing anything. She'd been having a flirtatious something or another with a world champion gymnast, who was a lot older than she was, and Tommy had very quickly backed off.

But the Alternate was completely different. She was as sweet and kind as she was feisty and brave and the combination enthralled him. Her physical presence rocked him like no female in his short life ever had. He didn't dare look her in the eyes for fear he'd make an idiot of himself and the physical reaction to her company was swift and intense and painfully obvious. He felt like an eleven year old that couldn't control himself and for the first time found himself thinking it totally sucked to be stuck in a white spandex uniform. It was completely and totally mortifying.

The smell of her perfume or the warmth of her body close to his sent his teenaged senses into overdrive. She was the source of countless daydreams at school and the things he'd begun to fantasize about astounded him. He was in complete and total puppy love which was so stupid it was…it was…completely wonderful. As the last of the dream faded away, he hugged the pillow one more time, reluctant to give up the illusion she was there with him.

It was absurd. He had a chemistry test in just over three hours. He needed to get out of bed, hide yet another pair of pajama shorts from his mother, get dressed, and walk himself to school. Once there he would do his absolute best to remind himself that this was a teammate creeping into his thoughts, not some fantasy girl in a magazine. She was a Ranger and he was the leader of the Rangers. That's all there was to it. Absolutely nothing more.

All he had to do was get through another day of school, keeping his mind firmly in check, and then he could go to Ernie's and beat the living crap out of the punching bag. It was a very simple plan and it had worked very well the last two days he'd implemented it. Hopefully, it would continue to work, unless, of course, he had to actually see her today.

At that thought, his traitorous brain drifted to the outfit she'd worn late Sunday evening after cleaning all that ridiculous paint off her face. She'd removed the heavy black shirt to reveal the tiniest little pink tank top…and the black capris had clung to her muscular legs like…at the sound of his alarm clock he jumped and swore loudly. He didn't even know if she felt the same way he did and he had absolutely no intention of humiliating himself by asking. She might laugh at him which would be devastating, or worse, she might despise him for not respecting her position as a teammate.

No, he couldn't say anything, he thought as he pulled white shirt from the closet, then tossed it aside and dug for one that didn't actually have an obvious burn mark or tear from a monster encounter. Kim was another Ranger and needed to be respected as another Ranger. All this stuff going on inside his head was wrong and he needed to snap out of it…but the dream he'd had last night had been so nice while it lasted…

* * *

Kim was in a funk. Although Aisha had made an effort to visit her after school on Monday and promised to take her shopping on Friday, homeschooling was turning out to be hopelessly isolating. She liked that it only lasted three hours and that she had the house pretty much to herself in the afternoon until her brother got off the school bus at four, but she missed the hustle and bustle of the hallways and all the extracurricular activities that went along with normal high school life. The reality that her old friends and her old life would never be coming back had finally caught up with her and she was severely depressed. 

To make matters worse, she'd apparently offended Tommy somehow. She and her Tommy had never been particularly close, but this Tommy had been her first real friendship on this world and it hurt that he was obviously going out of his way to avoid her the past few days. True, he was very busy with school and the Rangers, but even in the down times at the Power Chamber he seemed to go out of his way not to even look at her. She didn't know what she could have done wrong. It hurt her feelings and only increased her anxieties.

Then there was the matter of Zedd and the uncertainty of why he was interested in her. For the past three days, Zordon had done his best to calibrate her morphanological energies to the time zone and dimension she was in, effective hiding her from the nases device, but Kim still fretted that she was about to be discovered and the world would come tumbling down around her again. For the most part, Zordon' efforts appeared to be working, but last night something strange had happened. She'd woken up early that morning from her usual nightmare of the other Kimberly to actually see the dead girl standing over her.

It had been so surreal that Kim wasn't entirely sure it had happened. She had desperately hoped that she was dreaming, but since that early morning encounter, she'd seen the ghostly image several more times around the house; each time more clearly than the last. It was more unsettling than frightening; mostly because she knew the specter wanted to harm her.

Sunday evening, after making amends with her mom, she'd swapped rooms with her brother, simply to get out of the other girl's old space, but the ghost was now apparently furious that all her things were being packed up and sent to the garage. After breakfast that morning, Kim had watched in growing fear as the howling image had followed her mother, who had carried out a rather large box of dolls and trinkets for donation, then transported to the Power Chamber in a panic when the image turned on her screaming to the high heavens for Kim to get out of the house and leave her stuff alone. Although Zordon had listened carefully and seemed to take her seriously, he hadn't offered her any meaningful advice, simply insisted that she return home before her mother found her missing again.

For the rest of the morning, she'd put all her focus on her home studies, but now that the tutor had left her alone in the house for the rest of the afternoon to watch the ghostly image drift around the house, she was beginning to panic again. Determined not to let the phantom get the best of her, she dove into the re-painting of her new room with vigor.

After a few hours of hard work, she was actually quite impressed with the results. She'd never had a room of her own to decorate before. She'd lived with relatives or the Campbell's the last few years and before that, she'd always shared a room with her sister.

Yesterday afternoon, since Michael now had her queen size bed and she had his old double, their mother had taken them shopping to get new bedding sets and then they'd also convinced her to buy new paint colors at the same time. They technically weren't supposed to start painting until the weekend, but the image of the other Kimberly standing over her at two in the morning had caused her to spring out of bed, turn on every light in the room and the connecting bathroom, and attack the walls with gusto.

While her brother had chosen one color, dark navy blue, the artist in Kim had gotten the better of her and she'd picked out several; also mooching several small jars of sample colors as well. Her mother had been hesitant, and tried really hard to talk her out of it, but Kim had insisted and, in the interest of furthering peace and compromise in the house, had eventually allowed her to keep her choices.

She had chosen a floral theme for her bedspread, which surprised her because the big cabbage roses really weren't her style, but she loved the colors in it and a garden theme had gotten stuck in her head. She'd chosen a light green bed skirt that was rather plain and boring, but they'd found two oversized throw pillows in the same color that toned down the busy print of the spread and Kim loved them. Gone were the lacey pink sheets, replaced by plain beige ones that fit the smaller bed and her brother's military plane themed curtains had been taken out of the room, leaving the window bare. Her mother, still unsure of the paint colors she'd bought, promised her they'd look at curtains once the walls were finished, but not before.

In the very early hours of the morning, trying in vain to avoid the image of her predecessor, she'd gone to town on the walls of her new room. She had started with painting the lower half of the room a rich deep rose color that matched the flowers in her new bedspread. It wasn't red, but it wasn't the baby doll pink of the other room either. It was a rich, velvety, warm, pinkish red that took her four coats to look right and which got Kim musing that her pink Ranger uniform wasn't all that far removed in color from Rocky's red one.

The top half of her room was a beigey-yellow color that she had picked up from the plaid-like stripes in the background of the same bedspread. Her early morning painting spree had horrified her mom when she'd checked in on her earlier. The two warm colors worked well together, but Kim hadn't taped off the wall and the haphazard line where the two colors overlapped was a messy looking zigzagged brown color.

Undaunted, Kim dove back into the room after the tutor left and spent all afternoon using the small bottles of sample paint and the brushes from her brother's model sets to create a garden mural over the divide, effectively blending them together. It wasn't as good as she could do, coming out a little cartoonish in her opinion, and it made her desperately miss her paints and sable brushes back home. It was a start, though, and she told herself firmly that she'd go back over it little by little when she had better brushes and clean it up. It was also taking her a lot longer than she thought, frustrating her to no end, and she desperately hoped she could get at least enough of it done to reassure her mother she wasn't crazy.

"Oh my God." Her mother's voice said from the doorway and Kim looked up to see her enter and turn around the less than half finished room. "Kimberly Ann Hart." She said in a soft, amazed voice. "I had no idea honey. No idea at all."

"It's not finished." Kim said quickly, jumping up. Her hands were covered in multicolored paint splotches and she rubbed them absently on her jeans. "I can't make these plastic brushes of Michael's do what I want and the latex wall paint is kind of hard to control."

Kim watched as her mother dropped her purse and bent down to get a closer look at the little brown bird she'd painted inside a thicket nest. Kim had spent a long time on it and was frustrated that it just didn't want to come out right. She squirmed uneasily at her mother's scrutiny of it; she was an art dealer and very critical of the work she'd allow in her gallery. The bird was her, lost even though it was home and surrounded by thorns of uncertainty. She'd finally left it and moved on down the wall to paint happier little butterflies and bees dancing around the flowers and ivy.

"Oh my." Her mother said again, gently touching the now dry images on the wall. "Where did you learn to do this?" She asked, looking up at her daughter.

"I didn't." Kim said honestly, which was sort of true. She'd never had art lessons, but she had spent hour after hour the last five years of her life pouring out her emotions in her drawings. She knew she was good, she just wished she had the brushes and paints she needed to show her mother how good.

"How did you know how to do this? What colors to buy, where to start?"

"The colors I just picked up from the bedspread." She answered, shifting a little at her mother's scrutiny of her work. This was going to be her room, the one place where she could close the door and be herself; not Kimberly, not the Pink Ranger, not the Alternate, just Kim. Drawing and painting was the only thing she had left from her world that she'd carried with her, the rest was gone. It was the only thing outside Rangering that she did really well. She didn't want to hide it anymore.

"And you just looked at the wall and knew this is what you wanted to do?"

"Oh no." She said, shaking her head and dropping her brushes in a jar of water. "I put the bed together, then painted the two halves of the room, and then I just thought about what I wanted to see when I woke up or went to sleep every day. The things that make me really happy, like walking through the park or in a garden. So I started painting the flowers and the ivy and the rest sort of just came to me as I went along."

"Just like that." Her mother said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement and Kim wasn't entirely sure if she was supposed to answer.

"Do you like it?" She asked hopefully. It was a lot busier than she had intended, but she'd seriously underestimated how hard it would be to hide the reddish brown paint lines that separated the two colors. She was less than a third done and already out of most of the sample jars of paint. If her mom didn't like it, it would take a while to finagle more.

Her mom turned her eyes back to the little bird who looked so lost and alone sitting by the empty nest. "It's beyond good honey." She said. She had always wanted to be an artist herself, but had settled for selling art instead. The little mural strip before her was incredible…and it had come from her daughter. "Would you like art lessons?" She asked, standing up. Kim's eyes beamed brightly and she nodded vigorously. "Well then," Her mother mused, walking over and placing a gentle hand against the side of her face, "It appears that I've finally found something to make you smile again." She leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll talk to Grandma about it tonight but," she added, turning and looking at the little mural again, "I don't think she'll have a problem with the idea when she sees this."

"Thanks mom," Kim said. She meant it too.

"Dinner in half an hour." She responded, walking back to the door. "Don't leave your paints and brushes out." She advised unnecessarily, then crossed the doorway and walked down the narrow hall.

"She's not your mother!" The ghost of the other Kimberly screamed, appearing in the doorway as her mother left and startling Kim to the point where she jumped. "This isn't your house. You don't belong here!" The image of the dead girl continued to yell. "Get out of here and leave my family alone!"

* * *

Tommy trudged wearily through the front door of his mom's apartment and dropped his equipment bag off to one side with a thud. It had been a really long day between the exam at school, an unexpected pop quiz, and teaching his classes at Ernie's in the afternoon. He was exhausted and starving. It wasn't that he didn't like teaching, he loved it, but the little class of four and five year olds was the most difficult and it took all his patience to keep them on the mat and focused on him instead of everything happening around them. 

Ernie was very pleased with his classes and had told him that the moms were also very happy with him. While he was really glad to be in demand, it was also a double edged sword. Ernie now wanted him to add an extra day to his schedule and between school and Rangering, he wasn't sure he had an extra day in him.

He needed the money though. He would be turning sixteen in April and he almost had enough to buy an older model Jeep. Almost, but not yet. One of his neighbors had a slightly used red one that was sitting in their community parking lot that he was desperate for. The owner had promised him to wait a few more months before putting it up for sale, but his mother had been adamant that, if he wanted that car over the older model sedan she was willing to chip in on, then he had to pay for the difference all by himself. After six months of saving every penny he earned, he was still short by over a thousand dollars. He didn't know how much longer his neighbor would hold the car, knew there was other interest in it, and an extra day of classes would really help his car fund.

"There you are." His mother said, catching him eating directly out of the refrigerator instead of making a plate for himself.

"I'm hungry." He said, half in apology for breaking one of her house rules and half mooching for sympathy.

"You're always hungry." She said, shooing him away from the refrigerator and taking out the Tupperware container she'd put his dinner in. His step father was unnecessarily strict about dinner being served at exactly five o'clock, but that didn't mean she couldn't save her hard working son a plate to eat after her husband had left for his night shift. "This," She said dramatically, holding the plate directly under his nose, causing him to grin, "Is called a dinner plate. That," she said, pointing to the counter, "Is called a microwave. That other thing out there…" she said, pointing through the narrow doorway of the galley kitchen, "Is called a table. You know the drill." She said, bumping the plate playfully against his chest until he took it from her.

"Yes mam." He said sheepishly.

"That's my good boy." She crooned in an overly mushy tone, squeezing his cheeks with her fingers until he grimaced and backed away. She gave his cheek another pinch and then slid past him, through the doorway and back out into the hall. "The washer's still out of commission," She called back behind her, "So I'm off to the laundry mat. I'll be so happy when the builder finishes the house and we can finally move. Anything in that smelly old bag of yours need washing?"

"Uhm…everything?" He asked with a hopeful grin, emerging from the kitchen and wincing as she dumped everything out of his bag and picked out his dirty clothes. "Mmm hmmm…." She answered wryly, picking out his socks and his uniform, then tossing his belt off to one side. "Alright, I'm off." She said, not looking at him as he walked to the small table in the combination living and dining room. "Be good…no girls over while I'm gone."

"Mom…" He responded indignantly, the word sounding more like a teenage pout than a name, but when she looked his way, he stifled a grin. He and his mom got on really well; better than he and his dad or his stepfather did.

"You had three call you today." She said with a wicked grin, enjoying his discomfort. She had no illusions about his relationships with the opposite sex and, despite the fact that he was only fifteen and very closed mouthed about it, he seemed to appreciate the open attitude. Girls, she reasoned, would always swarm around her son. Better to be up front and know what was going on rather than ignore it and wait for something stupid to happen that could have been prevented. "Let's see," She said, purposely forcing him to wait as she pretended hard to remember. "Marcy wants you to go to the Policeman's Ball with her…since when do girls ask boys to a dance?" She paused, but got no answer other than an uninterested shrug. "And Stacy says to please, please, PLEASE, call her back and tell her why you won't call her back…you're not calling her back?" She waited, but he just continued to eat. "Too bad, I liked that one." She said with a sigh.

"Is that all?" He asked, still not looking at her.

"Oh yes…" His mother added with a twinkle in her eyes. "A new one." She said and then paused as she picked up two overloaded baskets of laundry. "She called twice." She said, giving him an impressed look and raising her eyebrow at him.

"Who?" He asked, curious, but really not interested. For the first time in his life, he thought, he was just too busy to think about girls.

"Someone named Kimberly." She said, eyes noting that he actually dropped his fork and spun around to look at her. That was a name she'd have to remember. "Her number's on the fridge." She said slyly, as she turned and left the apartment.


	9. Chapter 9: Double Trouble Pt 2

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 9: Double Trouble: Part Two.

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. _

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**_

* * *

Author's note: For more information on Kim's mother's concern over Tommy, please read The Coins: Chapter 11: Family Ties.

* * *

Tommy nervously wiped the sweat off his hands after ringing the doorbell. His heart pounded as he listened to the bolt lock slide back and saw the door crack, only to have it lurch as Kim's mother appeared with a startled look on her face. 

"Good evening Mrs. Hart, is Kimberly home?" He asked in his most polite voice.

"It's Ms. Williams since the divorce." She corrected politely. "Kimberly didn't mention the friend coming over tonight was a boy. You do realize that it's eight o'clock on a school night?"

"But I'm home schooled and Tommy has a ten o'clock curfew." Kim said from behind her.

Her mother didn't miss the look on the boy's face when her daughter came into view. A chill went down her spine that had nothing to do with the early December night, but she had agreed that Kim could see him. Boys were part of the newly negotiated deal now that gymnastics was apparently on hold for a while, but why did she have to encourage this particular boy? It was just asking for trouble and she wondered vaguely if his mother knew where he was.

"Come on." Kim said, reaching around her mom and pulling him into the house. "I need to show you something."

"And just where do you think you're going?" Her mother called behind them as she pulled Tommy down the hall.

"To show him the mural." Kim said, wincing a bit. She hadn't stopped to think what the household parental authority would say.

"Absolutely no boys in your room young lady," Came the stern reply.

"But you're home." Kim protested as if that should make it allowable. "I'll leave the door wide open."

"No." Her mother said firmly.

"Then come with us and supervise." Kim rebutted. The ghost was prowling around her new room, bugging the hell out her, and she wanted someone else who might be able to see it tell her that she wasn't delusional.

Her mom apparently couldn't see or hear it, which had caused much wailing on the specter's part, and Michael only seemed to hear her in his room when he was half asleep.

"How else is he gonna see it?" Kim asked rationally and her mother followed slowly, one step at a time, like a guardian sentinel ready to take out an approaching intruder.

Despite the fact that he was the leader of the Power Rangers and had once spent several weeks as a very powerful evil warrior, Tommy gulped and gave Kim a look somewhere between uncertainty and outright panic. Girls rooms were off limits; even he knew that. He was also pretty sure he knew why her mother didn't like him much. She was most likely psychic and had read his mind regarding her daughter.

He didn't want to get Kim into trouble and he certainly didn't want to create anymore trouble between Kim's mom and himself, but she had called him twice and when he called her back she sounded terrified. His instincts had taken over in an instant; she was in trouble and he had sprung into action to protect her. He'd been so adamant about reaching her that even Alpha had relented and had transported him back into her neighborhood.

As he was pulled into the small side bedroom, his first thought was that he was in the wrong place. When he'd searched out her bedroom windows before, it had been on the other side. His second thought was astonishment for the half painted mural strip on the walls. He scanned it from side to side, only half believing it was real, eyes fixed on the tiny little brown bird near the light switch; you could actually feel the loneliness in its eyes.

"Wow." Was all he said, one finger tentatively touching the flowers and things portrayed in the long strip across one wall. "You did this?" he asked, genuinely impressed. He'd never known anyone who could paint like that.

"Do you like it?" She asked, arms crossed in front of her, obviously agitated by something.

"It's really, really good Kim." He answered, slightly in awe of her. He considered himself a pretty good at drawing, but the little mural strip in front of him blew him away.

"I'm not finished. I still have a lot more to do…especially over _there_." She said, putting a heavy emphasis on the last word and pointing to a corner by her night stand. He looked up and nodded, a little confused by her tone, and, when he said nothing more, she grabbed his hand with an exasperated sigh and pulled him roughly back past her mother in the doorway, down the hall, out the front door, and down the driveway.

"What was that all about?" He asked, puzzled by her behavior as she dropped his hand and collapsed on the lawn.

"You didn't see her did you?" She asked glumly.

"Who?" He asked, forehead knotted and sitting down on the grass next to her.

"The ghost of the other Kimberly."

"Ghost?" He asked, the knot melting into a genuinely puzzled expression.

"The ghost of the other Kimberly." She repeated. "I started seeing her about two this morning. Now she yells at me nonstop." She moaned, sitting up, eyes asking him to believe her.

"She talks to you?" Tommy asked, uncertain what to say. He believed in ghosts, there were too many odd things he'd been exposed to both as a Power Ranger and in Rita's palace not to believe in them, but he hadn't actually seen one since losing his green Ranger powers. "What does she say?" He asked.

Kim didn't answer, instead she threw her arms around him and began sobbing. On the one hand, he was thrilled that she was in his arms, clinging to him, and it was totally appropriate for him to return the embrace and try to comfort her. On the other hand, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that her mother was closely watching them from inside the house and scrutinizing every move. He wished with all his heart that it was two in the morning again and there was no one around to see them out on the curb so that he could comfort her the way he really wanted to, but the more chivalrous side got the best of him. Begrudgingly, he lightly returned the embrace, back straight, and gently patted her back until the sobbing had dissolved into hiccups.

"That bad huh?" He asked when a silence fell between them. She sniffed loudly and sat up, wiping the tears off her red and swollen face.

"Sorry." She said with a little embarrassment, not meeting his eyes. "I don't know what got into me. I don't cry."

"Crying helps sometimes." He offered, but she just shook her head and wiped the last of the wetness from her face. She didn't have much makeup on today, but what she did have was now smeared in rivulets down her cheeks. "Here..." He said, holding out a packet of tissues his mom had stuffed in his pocket. "Your uhm…the uh, the eye…stuff." He suggested, indicating with his fingers that it was no longer on her eyes.

"Oh great." She sniffed sarcastically and began to vigorously wipe the areas he'd pantomimed. "Did I get it all? She asked, looking up at him.

Tommy hesitated for a moment and swallowed hard. She was sitting so close to him with her head tilted up, eyes looking at him so earnestly. Even with no makeup left on her face and her eyes and nose red from crying he thought she had to be the most beautiful creature he'd ever encountered. It struck him as a little odd that he'd never noticed that before in the other Kimberly. She was the identical twin of his former teammate, yet the other Kimberly had never effected him like this.

"Yeah." He said softly, startled by the huskiness of the tone. He jerked himself back to reality, but the moment unsettled him. "It's…it's fine."

"I don't cry." She said, apologizing. "It's just that she's so horrible. Once she realized I could see and hear her…she tortures me. She screams and calls me the most horrible things. She's furious that I packed up all her stuff and put it in the garage…that's why I changed rooms, I thought maybe she'd leave me alone…and when I try to sleep, she puts her hands around my throat and tries to…"

"Hold on." Tommy interrupted. "Are you telling me that Kimberly's ghost is in that house and trying to kill you?" He asked. Part of him was terrified for her. His first reaction was to protect her, to take her away with him and keep her safe, but the other part of him was confused and a little dubious. "That doesn't sound like Kimberly at all. I mean, she was spoiled and a little snooty, but she was also a really sweet girl Kim. She was a Ranger. A Ranger would never harm another Ranger."

"She wants me dead." Kim said shakily, eyes begging him to believe her. "She hasn't figured out how to do it yet, but she's really, really angry that I'm here and taking her place. She wants her life back and hates me for stealing it from her."

"Kimberly never hated anybody." Tommy said absently, not disagreeing with her, but trying to figure things out.

"You should have heard what she said to you when you walked into the bedroom."

"What?" He asked.

"She was jumping up and down and screaming that you murdered her and I brought you into her house near her family."

"She was jumping?" He asked and she rolled her eyes in frustration.

"Not really physically jumping. It's more a sense of…I dunno, she doesn't move like a real person, it's more of a feeling and then my brain sort of puts it all together."

"What does she look like?" Tommy asked.

"Like me." Kim said morbidly. "Except her hair is really long and all curly, like she'd put rollers in it."

"You see her that clearly?"

"She has on a pink warm up suit with a white leotard underneath. I can even see the pink scrunchie on her wrist." She answered gloomily.

Tommy paused, a chill running through his spine. That was exactly how Kimberly had been dressed the day she'd been attacked by Kemora and died. No one could have told her that. Her body had been removed from the Power Chamber minutes before Thomas's arrival with the Alternate.

Tommy had held the hand with the scrunchie after Kemora's demon spirit had departed her body. He had watched as the glowing red eyes had dimmed and, just briefly, saw the soul of his team mate return. She'd been scared, unable to talk; her body too badly torn up. He'd allowed his anger to get the better of him, had allowed the demons left by the evil green loose from their captivity. There was nothing he could do for her, but the eyes had begged him to do something; anything. He swallowed hard, wrestling with his own guilt again.

"You don't believe me do you?" She asked, tears welling in her eyes and with such a defeated look on her face that he placed his arm around her again reassuringly.

"I believe you." He said firmly. "But I also think we need to go and tell Zordon about this."

"He knows." She said, leaning into his shoulder and sniffing loudly. It had been a long time since she'd given into her emotions and cried. Longer still since someone had bothered to comfort her. It was nice…safe. She wasn't sure before that she had done the right thing by calling Tommy, but she was very glad he was there with her.

"He knows?"

"Yeah." She said softly, nodding. "I snuck away earlier and told him. Then I came home and called you."

"And he wasn't concerned?"

"He listened, but then he told me to go back home before my mom found out I was missing again." She answered, surprising herself by yawning a little. The day had been so long, and she was so tired. His chest was warm and strong and she could hear the sound of his heart thudding beneath her ear.

Tommy frowned and thought deeply for a moment. He couldn't believe that Zordon would leave Kim in a harmful situation. Either there wasn't a real ghost haunting her or Kim wasn't in any physical danger from it; despite the fact that she might be scared.

"How am I gonna be able to sleep in that house tonight?" Kim asked, sitting up a little. "I mean, I changed rooms because I couldn't stand being in her bed anymore."

"I don't know." Tommy said truthfully. "I think I need to talk to Zordon. Maybe he doesn't understand how scared you are."

"I'm not scared." She said defiantly, then softened her tone a bit. "Ok, maybe just a little." She admitted.

Tommy squeezed his arm around her reassuringly, then, because they were sitting so close, and his arm was already around her, and he could feel the warmth and energy begin to crackle between them, he leaned down and gently kissed the side of her forehead. It was a simple kiss, very innocent, almost brotherly, but there was nothing brotherly about the way the skin of her forehead burned against his lips.

She blinked up at him, grateful for the gesture, but also a bit confused, as if she hadn't expected it. Then the look in her eyes shifted as they searched his own. For a moment, their eyes locked and Tommy knew that she had felt something too. As he leaned in again, it was like a magnetic pull on his senses, drawing them closer together. Her head tilted just a little and her chin raised…

"Kimberly." Her mother called from the doorway. "Time to come inside now."

Tommy turned with an audible groan and looked back to the house, where every light had suddenly been turned on. Silently, he cursed, but the boy in him still bowed to parental authority; it was time to go.

He turned hopefully back to Kim, but the moment was gone and she had shifted away out of his easy reach. Her face had a slightly puzzled look, as if she wasn't exactly sure what had just happened and her fingers twisted nervously together. She regarded him curiously, as if she wasn't sure what to do.

"I uhm… I gotta go inside now." She said, chewing her lip nervously and lowering her eyes so that they didn't have to look into his. Inwardly his heart sank and he cursed himself. What had he been thinking? She had reached out to him for help and he'd tried to kiss her. What kind of an asshole did that?

"Yeah…uhm, I should really check in with Zordon. Do you want me to check in on you later?" He asked hopefully.

"No." She said a bit too quickly and his heart sank again. What an idiot he was to move on her like that. She was his teammate. She had trusted him and he'd betrayed that trust."That is…not unless you find something. I can…I can deal with it I guess. I mean Zordon doesn't think I'm in any danger…I guess I'm just letting my imagination run away with me." She stammered lamely.

"Kimberly." Her mother called again and Kim turned and began to cross the yard; arms wrapped tightly in front of her.

"Bye." She said nervously, waving a few fingers and he half heartedly returned the gesture.

Her heart was pounding. He had been about to kiss her, she was sure of it. She didn't know what to do, a boy had never tried to kiss her before, let alone Tommy. Had she done something to make him think he should? She just didn't know. She didn't know how to flirt; but maybe she'd done it subconsciously. One thing she did know, it wasn't her place to be turning Tommy's head. This Tommy hadn't met Katherine Hillard yet, but when he did…Kim knew exactly how hard her Tommy had fallen for her dimension's Katherine. Sure, this one was sweet and handsome and kind, but to turn his head now was just asking for heartbreak later…or worse, she might change history and alter the entire continuum. She just could do that.

As Tommy watched Kim re-enter the house, his heart sank. He'd allowed his imagination to get the best of him. What had he been thinking to try and kiss another Ranger? She'd despise him now and all because he'd been really stupid. But, for a moment, it had seemed as if there was an unseen force pulling them together, as if kissing her was the most natural thing in the world. Had he imagined it? She certainly bolted fast enough…and despite the fact he knew she was still scared, she didn't want him to come back. What a dope he was. She had turned to him because she needed a friend and he'd let three days worth of fantasies impair his judgment. What kind of leader was he?

* * *

"I am aware of the situation Tommy." Zordon said from his Power Tube. "And have given the matter much thought and consideration." 

"Then you think Kimberly's ghost is real?"

"I am afraid so." Zordon answered. "My attempts to harmonize the Alternate's morphanological signature with the harmonics of this dimension have resulted in increasing her awareness and perception of our former pink Ranger's spiritual energies."

"Kim says she's really angry."

"Yes." Zordon confirmed. "And this is precisely why her life energy is unable to depart from this plane of existence. This is an unusual and very dangerous complication."

"How so?"

"Two beings cannot occupy the same space. By refusing to depart from this field of life, the former Kimberly has put her replacement in grave danger. Not only will the two life forces continue to reject one another, it could possibly result in the ejection of both this plane of existence."

"Then we have to fix it." Tommy said. "Can't you stop whatever it is you're doing to Kim until we can help Kimberly?"

"There is no immediate resolution to this scenario." Zordon advised. "If I discontinue the procedure which recalibrates the Alternate's energies to this dimension's time signatures, there is a very real possibility that Zedd will be able to use the nases to expose her; dooming us all. If I do not, she will continue to come into conflict with the former pink Ranger's essence."

"Can't we just find a way to encourage Kimberly to…well…move on?"

"That is a decision only her spirit can make. As the Alternate's energies become more and more in sync with our dimension, perhaps it will become easier for the Alternate to communicate with her; but we cannot assume this will come to pass. One thing is certain, one or the other must go, both cannot remain."

"Oh man…" Tommy said with feeling. "Something tells me this isn't going to be easy."

* * *

"Kimberly Ann Hart." Her mother's voice rang through the deep velvet blackness that had overtaken her. "Just what are you doing out here?" 

"Sorry?" Kim asked, the sleep slow to fade away. She blinked several times as her mother's face came slowly into focus.

"Why are you out here?" Her mother demanded again and Kim simply blinked at her sleepily. "I'm waiting young lady."

Kim groaned and physically shook her head to throw off the last traces of sleep from her mind. Her neck had a crick and her back seriously didn't feel much better. She hadn't been able to take it anymore. The ghost assaulted her non-stop and every time she'd actually managed to drift off, she would wake suddenly with the feeling of being choked. Finally, desperate for sleep, she'd gone to the garage with her pillow and blanket and fallen into a deep sleep in the back of the car.

"Uhm…I don't know?" She said uneasily and with enough confusion to make her mom's face soften a little.

"Honey, I've been searching for you for over ten minutes. I was terrified you'd run off again."

"No." Kim said, ignoring her aching limbs as she sat up. "I uhm…I honestly…"

"Alright sweetie. Let's just get you inside and we'll have some breakfast ok?"

"Ok." Kim said uneasily. She really didn't want to go back in the house. She knew that the minute she did, the ghost would be at her again. Sure enough, no sooner had she collected her blanket and pillow from the car and followed her mother back into the kitchen, than she was right there.

"I know how to get rid of you for good." The specter snarled, but she ignored it. The last thing she needed was for her mom to think she heard voices. "Lord Zedd is going to give me the power to destroy you." The ghost crowed triumphantly, the vision coming within centimeters of her face. "Just like Tommy destroyed me."

Despite her resolve to remain calm, Kimberly panicked, dropping her things and yelping.

"What is it honey?" Her mom asked, turning around.

"I have to go." She whispered, anxiety creeping through her voice. "…to the bathroom." She added hastily and ran to her room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

"Earth to Tommy…" Aisha called, waving her hand in front of his face. 

"Huh?" He asked, backing up from the blur going back and forth before his eyes.

"Hello…am I doing this experiment by myself or are you planning on contributing something?"

"Sorry." He mumbled and shifted his papers off to one side. "Where are we?"

"Uhm, step Six?" She said with more than a little frustration. "What's up with you this morning?"

"Just thinking about Kim." He admitted, making a face when she puckered up and noisily kissed the air several time."

"Not like that." He said testily.

"Oh sure…" She returned in a disbelieving tone, turning her attention back to the beaker boiling in front of them. If Tommy wasn't interested in an A on his lab midterm, she was. She had a good college to get into and then vet school to think about.

"She says she's being haunted by Kimberly." He said in a confidential tone.

"You think it's true?" She asked, eyebrow raised. She liked the new Kim, but they had yet to really get to know her.

"Zordon believes her."

"Seriously?" She asked, re-adjusting her goggles, but before he could give an answer, their communicators chirped. "Oh no…not now!" She said, slightly panicked."Seriously, we're like two minutes from completing this thing and getting our A."

"You stay and finish." Tommy said, standing up and glancing around the room for the teacher. "But as soon as it's done and turned in, get back to the Power Chamber."

She nodded as he slipped further back behind their chemistry bench and into a small utility closet. There was a brief flash of white light and, with a glance around to see if anyone noticed, she put her mind back to work on their experiment.

* * *

"What is it Zordon?" Tommy asked, stopping short as he saw Kim standing gravely in front of the Power Tube. In seconds, the blue, black, and red Rangers appeared behind them. For a moment, he had the irrational thought that maybe she'd told Zordon he'd tried to kiss her. Panic made his heart suddenly beat faster, but he dismissed it as a silly thought. If she had told on him, Aisha and the others wouldn't have been called too. He took a deep breath and moved next to her to see why Zordon had called them. 

"I'm afraid my concerns regarding the nases device have been realized." Zordon announced. Tommy looked sharply at Kim, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. Concern gripped him and not just because of the danger she was in, but his heart sank heavily when she kept her gaze firmly locked on Zordon and refused to look back at him.

"Zedd has been able to locate both Kimberlys in this dimension." Zordon was saying. "However, my efforts to conceal the Alternate's identity appear to have been successful. The steps that I have taken to recalibrate her energy with her predecessor imitate a phenomenon that is rare, but not unheard of, where a being's spiritual and mortal halves are divided after a demonic possession such as Kemora's.

"Somehow, that's just not very comforting." Kim said uneasily. She didn't want to die and she knew that was the penalty should she be discovered.

"It has great importance Kimberly. Zedd has reacted as I anticipated he would. He has sent his forces to entice our former pink Ranger's distraught spirit, convincing her to willingly join his forces instead of alerting the local moderators that a breach of the continuum laws might have occurred. I am confident that if he had been able to ferret out your true identity, he would have wasted no time in that course of action, which would have assured him victory over Earth, instead of wasting time beguiling a human spirit."

"Kimberly would never make a deal with Lord Zedd." Tommy said defensively. Spoiled or not, Kimberly had been a Ranger and a Ranger would never make deals with the likes of Zedd.

"Lord Zedd has successfully convinced her that he is the only being who can restore her to this plane of existence and help her obtain revenge on those she believes have harmed her."

"Ai yiyi…Zordon this is terrible. Her spirit could be altered forever as a slave to the forces of evil." Alpha cried, hands coming to rest on either side of his metallic head. "No one deserves that fate."

"This is her fault." Rocky said, pointing at Kim.

"It's not." Tommy said defensively, rearing up with such an angry look on his face that Rocky backed up a few steps.

"The situation is indeed grave," Zordon continued evenly. "However, it is quite possible it would have occurred even if the Alternate had not been given to us by Thomas. The spirit of our former pink Ranger has been effected by Kemora's possession and she unable to release the anger and bitterness she feels. It is very likely that she would have been enticed to take revenge on any new member we embraced."

"So what does all this mean for us Zordon?" Adam asked quietly. He didn't like his best friend lashing out at the new Ranger just because she was taking away Tommy's attention from the rest of the team and he really didn't like the look on Tommy's face when he defended her.

"In gaining Kimberly's willing cooperation, he will be able to harness her connection to the pink power coin and return its power to her. By willingly accepting his offer, the energies of the coin of which she is still linked to will be under his control through her; effectively altering the balance of good and evil on the morphin grid."

"So she can take control of my coin?" Kim asked. "But if my coin turns evil, will I?"

"Not necessarily." Zordon responded. "Although you morphanological energies have been harmonized to this dimension, you are still apart from it and retain the underlying signatures of your previous tenure. You should be able to resist the pull of this dimension's coin, however, it is foolish to believe you will not be uneffected by it."

"Zordon." Tommy interrupted. "If the power of the pink coin is forcibly taken from her, will she suffer the same side effects I did when Rita used the green candle on me?" He asked. The pain of losing his green power against his will had been excruciating. His heart ached for Kim at the thought of her going through the same thing.

"The possession of her previous coin will give her an immunity that you did not have when the power of the green coin was forcibly removed." Zordon answered, "However Zedd is not to be underestimated and the Alternate does have a link to our dimension's coin which will influence her in ways yet to be determined."

"Wait, I'm confused." Rocky said. "Our Kimberly is now evil and is going to steal the powers away from the Alternate? What good are morphin powers to a ghost?"

"Zedd has struck a deal with our previous pink Ranger's spirit which will give him domination over the energies of the pink power coin. He will be able to remove the morphing power from our current pink Ranger and transfer the energy to Kimberly's spirit. A mortal form is not necessary to sustain a morphed form. Since the spirit of our fallen comrade was never separated from her coin, Zedd can easily use that link to trap her essence inside her old morphin form. In such an instance, the mortal half remaining would normal terminate, leaving us without a pink Ranger, but because this Kimberly is still linked to her other power coin, I believe she will survive with a minimum of discomfort."

"Nice." Adam mumbled under his breath.

"Although the situation appears dire," Zordon advised. "I have anticipated this move and it is by far the most preferable of the options we have been presented with."

"Oh god…" Kim moaned, burying her head in her hands. "Rocky's right, this is all my fault."

"What did I miss?" Aisha said, transporting in and hurrying over to the group.

"Looks like we've got another evil Ranger on our hands." Tommy said gravely.


	10. Chapter 10: Double Exposure

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 10: Double Exposure.

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. _

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**_

* * *

As Kim mulled over her problems, a deep depression settled around her. It was all her fault. Her fault that she hadn't been strong enough to resist Kemora, her fault her friends had died and her world had been lost, her fault that another world and another team was in danger. She should have died with her friends. 

Guilt weighed as heavily around her as loss. The Great Power had never been gentle with her, never given her a peaceful life, she'd been wrong to think things would be different here. Without her ability to morph on this world's grid, Zordon had transported her home, but her tutor wouldn't arrive for another hour, so she caught a bus to the park to walk off her frustrations, not really caring if she got back in time for her lessons or not. She disagreed with Zordon. Home was the very first place the ghost Ranger would look for her.

Putting one mindless foot in front of the other, she wasn't surprised to find herself in front of Angel Elementary. She'd often walked the park's path to her old school on her world. It was the last place her family had been together before the accident.

She'd been in fourth grade, with her twin sister, and her brother had been in Kindergarten. It had been a plain old ordinary day. Her mom had picked them up in the carpool line and they had taken the expressway to her grandmother's house.

Kim was never sure how it happened. She had no memory of it. She'd simply been chattering away about everything from the lunch line to recess and then had woken up from a dreamless sleep in the hospital with her whole world gone forever. From reading the details several years later, she knew that there had been a minor collision several cars ahead of them, but the truck in front of them hadn't been able to stop and its load jack-knifed; the trailer rolling over on several cars behind it. Kim had been the only survivor in the four cars effected by the truck. She'd been in the rear passenger seat and it had been dumb blind luck that section of the car hadn't crumpled. She'd been so small, they'd found her tightly bound by her seatbelt; alive but very badly hurt.

She had survived because she was young and didn't know better. When you're a child, one day comes after the other and you get through it because that's all you know. This time around, however, she wasn't young anymore. She had lost too much, too many times. Her youth had been stripped away so that beneath the child like face that still showed to the outside world, lurked a very wounded and tired spirit.

Rangering had revived that spirit, soothed it, allowed it to heal a little, but Kemora had reopened those wounds. The small safety and security she'd found in her little Ranger family had been ripped away, not by chance, but by her own hand. Rocky's words repeated over and over again in her mind. They touched a nerve that simply would not go away; it was her fault. The ghost was right; she didn't deserve to live.

What gave her the right to stay in this world and take the other Kimberly's place? She thought to herself bitterly. Twice she had cheated death and for what? To start all over again in another world with another life? Why did she deserve another chance to live when those she'd loved most had been given only one? It was overwhelming and she honestly didn't think she had the strength to go on.

Her eyes left the brick and stone building in front of her and traveled over to the small fenced in playground where the fourth and fifth graders took their recess. That was the last place she'd been blissfully innocent of the harsh realities of the world and the universe. The last time she had really belonged somewhere. A scuffle on the other side caught her attention, and as her eyes narrowed on it, she recognized her brother and a few bigger boys arguing over something. She hesitated for a moment and then wandered around the border of the chain link fence to see better.

"Give 'em back!" He brother howled and, like a protective parent, she picked up her pace a little until she was close by. As she approached, her brother hit the ground hard and rolled over with a little yelp; clutching his arm.

"Hey!" She barked like a military sergeant. "Leave him alone!"

"Hey look guys, the little snots got a girl coming to his rescue." The largest of the bullies jeered. "I'm just so scared of a girl on the other side of the fence yelling at me."

"You better be scared," Kim growled. "Especially when I identify your worthless hides to the principal."

"Run!" Shouted one of the boys and the others were quick to follow, but not before the largest of them opened her brother's blue box of collector cards and scattered them across the ground; tossing the box itself harshly at her brother."

"You ok?" Kim asked through the fence as her brother slowly got back up and began to retrieve his collection.

"Fine." He muttered, dusting off one that was apparently special to him.

"That happen often?" She asked, frustrated that the fence kept her out of the yard.

"What do you care?" He snapped back.

"Hey," She said in a mischievous tone. "I'm the alien sister, remember?"

He stopped for a second and gave her an odd look, then turned his attention to picking up the rest of his cards as the bell rang. "Just because you're Miss Popularity at school doesn't mean I am." He said in a disgruntled tone.

"They pick on you a lot?"

"Sometimes." He shrugged. "I'm small for a guy." He admitted.

"As big as me." She quipped. "And I'm four years older."

Her brother turned and gave her a quizzical look, then walked over to the fence, ignoring the rest of his class who were lining up to go inside. "Being a small guy isn't nearly the same as being a small girl."

"No, it's not, but that doesn't mean you have to take that kind of crap. There's no reason why you can't learn to defend yourself from them."

"Oh right, so they can just gang up on me and pound me into the ground for resisting them."

"Why don't you take one of Tommy's karate classes?"

"Tommy?"

"The guy that came over yesterday. He teaches karate at the Youth Center." She answered. When her brother just stared at her like she was crazy she added. "Karate teaches you to defend yourself and be more confident in your abilities. At the very least it'll build a little muscle on your frame."

He opened his mouth to answer and then stopped, eyes focusing in surprised wonder behind her.

"What?" She asked and then turned around. With a huge sinking feeling and more than a little dread, she saw the pink Ranger standing casually behind her with her arms folded across her chest. This pink Ranger, however, was flanked by Goldar and Baboo.

"Oh my god!" Her brother cried excitedly. "It's the pink Ranger, you really are friends with them."

"That's not the pink Ranger." Kim said bitterly. "The pink Ranger would never serve Lord Zedd."

"Oh but I am." Her own voice came back to taunt her. "And Lord Zedd has given me more power than I ever realized."

"Michael run!" She yelled, then pushed herself away from the fence and backed off. "It's me you want, leave him out of it."

"Are you kidding? I think that little twerp brother of mine will do nicely." She snarled.

"Kimberly?" Michael asked, confused by the physical presence of his sister on his left and her voice coming from what looked like the pink Ranger.

"I'd say in the flesh," She answered nastily, "But the flesh part seems to be missing." She reached out her hand and a golden object appeared. Throwing it directly at her brother, the object slid through the fence as if the barrier didn't exist, and slammed into Michael. He had time for one small surprised cry before he was transformed into a six foot tall blue monster, complete with baseball cap and jersey.

"No!" Kim screamed, but the monster had already turned and was causing havoc in the school yard.

"Kimberly!" Tommy's voice called from behind Kim, she turned, but his focus was on the morphed Ranger, not her. "Don't do this. Your spirit could be trapped forever in one of Zedd's evil sub-dimensions."

"Tommy!" Kim cried out. "She's turned Michael into a monster!" She warned. He spared her a small side glance, but kept his attention focused on his former teammate.

"Well, well…if it isn't the evil green masquerading in white." The pink Ranger sneered, stunning Tommy with how much she sounded like Kemora. "What's the matter Tommy? Too much of a coward to finish off what you started?"

Tommy shifted slightly, but his words were calm when he answered. "Kimberly don't do this. Kemora killed you, not me, not Kim. Don't let your anger damn you like hers did."

"You should know about being damned." His former teammate sneered. "You both should. You were damned the minute Rita took you and Zedd tells me she's no more than a soulless shell, too stupid to know she needs to die."

"Leave her alone." Tommy snarled, pushing the panic down at the thought of the former Kimberly hurting the Alternate. "She's powerless now, you took an oath to defend the powerless."

"Ha!" The pink Ranger spat. "And just look where that got me…dead." She turned in an instant and called for her bow, firing rapidly in Kim's direction. Kim dodged evasively, but in the next instant found herself transporting out.

* * *

"Ai yi yi." Alpha said. "Kimberly, you were supposed to wait at home, you don't have your powers." He fretted, walking over to help her up where she'd fallen on the floor. 

"And wait for her to show up there?" She asked, turning and looking up at Zordon. "I can't sit by and let them do this without me. Is there any chance my other power coin will work?"

"Unfortunately, the coin from your dimension isn't compatible with our grid." Alpha explained.

"Can't we make it compatible?" Kim asked.

"Kimberly, things just don't work that way." Alpha said in an overly patient tone.

"Unfortunately Kimberly, if we align your coin with the morphing grid, Lord Zedd will be alerted to your presence as an Alternate Kimberly." Zordon said evenly. "This risk of exposure is simply too great."

"Is that the only one we can use?" She asked hopefully.

"Ai yi yi…Kimberly. Now is not the time to be argumentative." Alpha said, waving a metallic finger at her. "We need to help the Rangers and you need to go home and wait for them."

"I can't go home and simply wait for the ghost to show up at the house." Kim argued. "Can't we make another grid that Zedd can't tap into?"

"A morphin grid is not easily duplicated." Zordon said patiently. "It is a tool used by the powers of the universe to access the Great Power itself and to scrutinize the balance of good and evil; ensuring a balance exists. Our grid once showed the struggle between Rita and myself, now it monitors my struggle with Lord Zedd. Now that Lord Zedd has tapped into this power using our former pink Ranger, it is simply too dangerous to allow you access to it."

"Can't I go back and use my home grid?"

"Kimberly, Zordon has already explained that is not possible. Lord Zedd will know at once you are an Alternate and then all of us will be placed in great danger." Alpha scolded.

"But, there's only one that can be used?" Kim pressed.

"Of course not." Alpha scolded. "But the older grids are just not powerful enough to support a Ranger team anymore."

"How about just one pink Ranger?" Kim asked hopefully.

"Kimberly!" Alpha fussed.

"No Alpha. Kimberly may have successfully stumbled upon a legitimate alternative."

"Zordon?" Alpha asked hesitantly, turning away from Kimberly and looking up at him.

"I will have to give this matter careful consideration, however, it is true that the power coins have been utilized on more than one grid throughout the ages. It might be possible to communicate with an older grid, one that is familiar with the signature of the coins, and see if enough power could be drawn forth to sustain a viable singular morph during battle."

"Sign me up Zordon." Kim responded eagerly.

"I am not convinced at this time that this is the most suitable form of action Kimberly." Zordon cautioned. "I will need to give the matter thought and see how the others fair against their former companion."

"Zordon, that ghost doesn't have any of the reservations that the Rangers have." Kim argued. "She's out to kill, the team is just out to stop her. She has the advantage. This is a fight between me and her. I'm the one who took her place, who made her angry enough to sign on with Zedd, I need to be the one out there fighting, not cowering in the Power Chamber or in my house."

"Your determination is commendable young Kimberly, however I must consider your ideas very carefully. It is not only you who faces exposure, but all of us. If your true identity is revealed, all of us will pay the penalty for knowingly harboring you."

"All the more reason I need to be out there fighting." She insisted.

As Zordon studied the earnest face in front of him, he couldn't help but be impressed with her determination. It was a characteristic that again brought her into sharp contrast with her predecessor. Perhaps she was right in arguing her need to deal with the ghost of the other Kimberly herself, but he was more inclined to see how the others fared first.

"We must watch the current conflict and see." He said evenly. "The time will soon come when you, and you alone, may be able to convince the spirit of the old Kimberly to leave Zedd's service and move on to the dimension that awaits her, but not now.

Kim exhaled her frustration, but bowed to the authority before her. "At least let me stay here and watch things on the viewing globe." She said resignedly.

* * *

The Rangers picked themselves up and re-grouped as the ghost of their former teammate tossed them around as carelessly as if they were last year's action figures. As one, they were all stunned by her power. Kimberly had been a good Ranger, but not one that any of them had ever taken seriously before. Either Zedd had increased her powers a hundred fold, or they had all seriously underestimated her potential. 

She laughed cruelly at them; taunting them, goading them on. With each breath she sounded more and more like the demon Kemora, until Tommy had finally had enough.

"Time to pull the gloves off guys." He muttered. The rest of the team nodded and moved toward their ready positions around him. "Enough of this Kimberly." He shouted across the battlefield. "If you've truly taken Zedd's side, then so be it. You're no longer one of us and we'll no longer try to save you from yourself."

"I'm so terrified." The pink ghost taunted back in an overly animated voice.

"Let's bring it together guys." Tommy said authoritatively, ignoring the knot of doubt in his stomach over what he was about to do. He'd killed Kemora, he'd watched their Kimberly die in the process, now he was about to do it all over again.

"I don't think so." The pink snarled as the Rangers began to put their weapons together. She held out her hand and the golden object appeared in it once more. Without seeming to do anything more than hold it out toward the group in front of her, it began to glow ominously. Within seconds, just as the Rangers braced for firing, a golden wave burst forth and suddenly their weapon was gone. A few seconds later, one by one, each of the Rangers de-morphed in a shower of gold sparks and stood powerless and stunned before their former comrade.

"Oh poor little Tommy." The ghost called out in a sing-song voice. "I've stripped you of your powers just as easily as you stripped me of my body!" She laughed then, a laugh so like Kemora it chilled each of them to the bone. "But I'm not done with you yet, my precious white knight." She snarled. "I want you to suffer first. You need to know the torment I've endured these past few weeks. Death is too easy for you."

She turned and held the golden object high in the air. "Twerpsnot!" She shouted, and the six foot, blue monster that had formerly been her brother came running to her side. "Prepare to grow…" She hissed, and lightening shot from the sky and hit him head on. At once, he grew to over sixty feet. "I think you should begin your rein of destruction with Tommy's apartment building." The pink ghost cooed nastily, never taking her visor from Tommy's face.

"Kimberly don't do this!" Tommy shouted, but the pink simply laughed and transported out followed by Goldar and Baboo.

* * *

"We did not destroy him!" Goldar complained as they marched back into Zedd's throne room. "The white Ranger still lives." 

"Silence you idiot!" The pink ghost Ranger shouted, whirling on him and chastising him despite Zedd's presence just a few feet away from them. "Tommy has to live to suffer the deaths of all those he holds dear to him. The torture of it, the anguish, will break him…and when he whimpers helplessly at my feet, then and only then I will shred his body as he tore apart mine." She rasped.

"Ah, my dear…" Zedd crooned as he rose from his throne and marched over to her. "How deliciously evil you are! How your mind twists to relish even the smallest of vindictive details. I can hardly wait to witness the culmination of your cruelty."

He stepped forward and placed his well armored arm about her waste. She reflexively pulled away, then remembered her place, stilling herself and sensibly allowing the contact. Zedd grinned in triumph behind his helmet. Now this was a female who could aspire to his own greatness.

How beguiling she was, how positively maniacal, how cruel, how utterly spiteful… how intoxicating…and what a fitting revenge to take the pink Ranger as his mistress or even to wife... How Zordon would twist and writhe from the agony of it. Proprietarily, he guided the pink ghost Ranger to his throne and sat her to his right. They would watch the monster destroy the city together.

Off to the side, slipping into the shadows least he be seen, Goldar glowered at her.

* * *

"Zordon, what do we do?" Tommy asked in a near panic as they transported back into the Power Chamber. He was desperately torn between his duty to the team and the need to run and get his mom out of their building. 

"Billy, I require your assistance please." Alpha said from behind a side consol. Kim was busy pushing a series of buttons on another consol and Alpha directed Billy to take her place.

"Ok Zordon." Kim said nervously, looking up at him. "I'm ready."

"Do you understand the ramifications of what you are about to attempt?" Zordon asked her.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked, the others following him as he approached Zordon's power tube.

"I do." Kim said in what she hoped was a confident tone.

"Ai yi yi…Kimberly, are you sure about this?" Alpha asked fretfully. "No one will think badly of you if you change your mind. If the calculations are even slightly off..."

"I'm ready." Kim insisted, nodding once to show her determination.

"Very well then Kimberly." Zordon said from above them. "Alpha, prepare the morphanological sequencing calibrator to interact with the rhythmic continuity stabilizer. Billy, You must maintain the stability of the epsilon grid with our own output controls. Whatever happens, you must maintain the resonance of the current morphin grid." He advised and Billy simply nodded, eyes wide as he analyzed the readouts and realized what they were about to attempt.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked again as Kim took her place at what looked like a small viewing globe. She placed her gold coin, the one she'd carried from her dimension, into a small tray on the top of it and then shifted her stance, balancing herself with her legs spread apart, as if she expected to be knocked away. "Kim…" he said uncertainly, a cold sinking feeling settling into his gut.

"Ai yi yi… not now Tommy, there will be time to explain later… we'll only get one shot at this…. Zordon, the sequencing modulators are active and primed."

"Then begin the energy transfer." Zordon responded solemnly and, it seemed to Tommy, reluctantly.

All watched as the globe in front of the Alternate began to glow, then, in a mighty burst, Kim was thrown back and her body jolted, but she kept her balance and within seconds she was fully morphed. As if not fully believing it had worked, she took her gloved hands away from the globe and held them out in front of her for a better view.

Although the pink and white uniform looked nearly identical, there were some obvious differences too. The white boots were sharply pointed and tooled, western style, and a thin line of shiny white tassels dripped from each of her arms. The skirt was slightly longer and the material not quite as shiny; as if the spandex were thicker and had a mat finish to it.

"We did it!" She squealed, throwing her arms up in victory. "Can I still use my zord?"

"Congratulations Kimberly." Zordon said, smiling down on her. "For a plan well devised and executed. However, I must advise caution. The morph is, for now, a stable one, but the grid we have utilized has been dormant for nearly one hundred and twenty of Earth's years. Your morphing powers will be limited and we must not press the fortune that has favored us. It is up to you now to pursue the spirit of the other Kimberly. You must either persuade her to see the error of her ways or you must destroy her."

"But what about the monster?" Rocky asked. "We lost our powers."

"They are not lost." Zordon assured him. "Zedd has successfully utilized his connection through your former teammate to temporarily freeze your powers on the grid."

"So how do we get them back?" Tommy asked.

"The Alternate Kimberly must destroy the golden box that Zedd entrusted to your former teammate. The destruction of this object, I am certain, will not only restore your powers, but restore Kimberly's brother Michael as well."

"So it's all up to her?" Rocky asked.

"Oh give it a rest." Aisha spat back, surprising him. "She's the only one who's got her powers. It's obvious she's the one to go after it…unless you want to go up against Kimberly's ghost again unmorphed."

"I concur." Billy piped up. "Kim's the logical choice."

"Ai yi yi…" Alpha fretted. "Kimberly, the ghost Ranger is back in Angel Grove Park and the putties are attacking innocent civilians."

"The monster is also doing a pretty good job of tearing up downtown Angel Grove." Adam noted.

"Oh man…." Tommy groaned. "That's my apartment building…my mom should be home from work by now."

"Tommy, you are released to see to the well being of your family." Zordon said. "Kimberly, the fate of your friends and your new world now lies in your hands."

"I won't let you down." Kim responded, her helmet bobbing in a little bow.

"Just remember, your powers are temporary." Alpha fretted. "Don't get overly confident out there." He added as she transported out.

"Considering she looks like something out of an old TV western," Aisha added confidentially to Adam, "She's gonna need all the confidence she can get."


	11. Chapter 11:Double Entendre

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 11: Double-Entendre

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. _

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**_

* * *

Tommy's chest felt like it would crush inward at any moment. His heart pounded and sweat beaded against his forehead as he ran forward. His apartment building was swaying back and forth as the monster batted it around like a punching bag. Pieces of concrete flew everywhere, smashing against the street below and sending people screaming in all directions. 

He didn't know where his mom was. She should be getting home from work at anytime. He didn't know if she'd go straight back to the apartment or detour and go to the store or out to check on the new house. It was the not knowing that was the worst.

He was adopted, he'd always known that he was adopted, but his mom meant everything to him. He couldn't love her more if she was his biological mother. His adoption had been a last ditch effort to save a failing marriage. His mom and dad thought that their problems stemmed from not being able to have children, not being a real family, but it hadn't worked. His dad had always been a good dad, and he loved him, but there had always been a distance between them. There had always been the adoption between them. His dad always brought it up, swore it didn't matter to him, but then always brought it up again as if it answered some unvoiced question.

He was different; that was the issue. His dad had played football and baseball in high school. Tommy was in love with martial arts. He loved history; his dad taught science. Their taste in food was even different. They were just not…. alike. Still, it had hurt like hell when his dad had walked off with a new girlfriend and not even asked for partial custody. They'd gotten a little closer now that he was older, but Tommy wasn't sure if that was because he now lived in California and only saw him once or twice a year.

It was totally different with his mom. He loved her more than anything. True, she embarrassed him more times than not, but that was just because she was his mom. She'd always been there for him, always encouraged him, valued him, loved him more than anyone else. He could talk to her about anything; well, almost. The thought of her in that swaying building was so terrifyingly painful he couldn't stand it.

It was his fault. The monster targeted his building because Kimberly wanted revenge on him.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" A fireman said as he and a comrade tackled Tommy and pulled him back.

"My mom!" Tommy protested. "My mom's in that building!"

"I don't know how you got past the barrier kid." One of the firemen said as they both drug him backward, kicking and trying to wrestle loose, "But you need to stay back where it's safe. That building's about to fall."

"All the more reason I gotta get her out!" Tommy argued, cursing under his breath that he couldn't morph on the one occasion he really needed to.

"Look kid, that's our job, not yours."

"But…"

"If you don't stay back here behind the barricade," The fireman said forcefully, waving to two uniformed police officers setting up a fence in front of two sideways parked squad cars, "These nice policemen are going to put you in their car and take you to a shelter until the monster attack is over. Do you understand?"

Tommy looked up at the firemen, then over to the police, thinking none of them of them could handle a monster half as well as he could, but also knowing none of them would believe him if he said anything. He was out numbered.

He allowed his shoulders to slump as if in defeat and the policemen to lead him outside the barricade, walking slowly away until he was just out of their sight; then broke out in a run. If he could make it to the alley, he might be able to slip in via the fire escape.

* * *

"Well, well, well…" The morphed ghost of the other Kimberly said snidely. "If it isn't the mortal remains…" 

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Kim asked, facing off against her. "A showdown between just the two of us?"

"You look like you're more ready for a hoedown than a showdown." The ghost replied.

"It doesn't have to be like this." Kim said, trying one last time to make the ghost see reason.

"So I've been told…" The ghost replied in a bored tone.

"If I destroy you now, you'll remain an evil spirit forever. Is that what you want? Didn't your life mean anything to you?"

"That's fairly amusing coming from a lifeless shell." The ghost observed.

"Don't you get it?" Kim spat back. "Zedd lied to you, I'm not a soulless shell, you need life energy to morph. I'm you. Kimberly. Kill me and you kill everything that's left of you in this world."

"Liar!" The ghost screamed. "You're not me, you're just a body that forgot to die after the demon left you!"

"And you've become nothing more than that very demon!" Kim spat back. "Is it worth it? To become your own killer?" She asked and the ghost screamed at her in rage, lunging forward, but the Alternate was ready and met her head on.

Her first thought, as she was pummeled and thrown back, was astonishment for how powerful the ghost Ranger was. She was her, or rather, they were both Kimberly, and Kim was supposedly the better Ranger. What was the difference?

At first she thought the old western grid just didn't have enough power to let her fight like she should, then she worried maybe this wasn't the other Kimberly's ghost at all, but a remnant of Kemora. She jumped up and charged again, only to be trounced a second time. Confused, she stayed down a few seconds longer to consider what was happening.

"If I'm nothing more than a soulless shell, why do you want to finish me off so bad?" She asked, still lying on her stomach, but raising herself up enough to see the other Ranger.

"You will die." The ghost Ranger hissed.

"Why? If you're so mad about being dead, why destroy what's left of you?" Kim asked, and had the satisfaction of seeing the ghost pause.

"You're messing everything up…" The ghost countered lamely.

"Of course I am." Kim countered simply. "The things that mattered the most to you, left with you, the stuff that matters most to me stayed with me. We're the same, both Kimberly, just different. Don't you see that? By killing me, you're destroying yourself and condemning us both!"

"I…" The ghost answered, then paused, obviously struggling.

"Let's end this now…let me help you." Kim said earnestly.

"Yes…" The ghost hissed evilly and a cold chill of foreboding shivered down Kim's spine. "Let's end this…now."

* * *

Tommy's curse was silenced between clenched teeth. He was caught. Again. Some great leader of the Power Rangers he was. He'd been in and out of Rita's dungeons, in and out of countless dire situations, and successful on more than one odd quest…yet here he was, caught twice in the first ten minutes by yet another set of Angel Grove's finest. In a way, it was embarrassing…but he was really too pissed to care. 

He didn't resist as he was handcuffed and marched to a waiting squad car, but he did manage a good glower that gave one of the officers reason to pause. He looked up and was able to get one last look at the building as the officer pushed his head inside and closed the door. As he watched, the monster was engulfed in a golden glow and then vanished. He grinned madly, knowing Kim must have succeeded, only to watch in horror as his apartment building swayed twice, then quickly collapsed in on itself. He reared up, hands still bound behind him, head pushed against the glass, and screamed as the dust and debris engulfed the car.

* * *

Kim was getting tired. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it up. The ghost Ranger seemed un-phased, willing to patiently let her recover just enough to catch her breath and attack again before pounding her backward. She was on the offensive and the ghost was baiting her, waiting for the attack and then countering it. 

"This is getting old." Kim huffed, trying desperately to catch her breath as she rolled over and staggered back into a standing position.

"And yet you still get up." The Ghost observed.

"What would you have done?" Kim asked, still gasping for air. The ghost Ranger shrugged and simply waited.

Kim didn't have much time left. She could feel her powers fading. This was a one-shot deal and she was blowing it. But what was the key? How could the ghost be so much stronger? She'd used every trick she had, yet the ghost was nonplused. There had to be some difference. Some weakness that would destroy her. Something that would give her just enough of an edge, make the ghost show her hand.

"You know what your problem is?" Kim asked, pretending to be more tired and out of breath than she actually was.

"What?" The ghost asked in a bored tone.

"You're mad because you wasted your life." Kim said evenly. "Instead of enjoying what was going on, instead of living every moment as if it was your last, you lived it like a spoiled princess… nothing was good enough for you, you had to have more…what could people do for you instead of what could you do for them.

"Stop it." The ghost spat, becoming agitated.

"You had it all and you acted like it bored you. You never appreciated it."

"That's not true, I loved my life and it was stolen from me!"

"Fool yourself if you want to sweetie, but I am you. I know the truth."

"Liar!" The ghost screeched.

"Hit a nerve didn't I?" Kim taunted. "You were a Power Ranger Kimberly…you were going to the Pan Games…You had a mom and a Grandma who adored you…and you wasted it, just like your dad wasted his life."

"Enough!" The ghost screamed.

She reared back and the golden object began to appear in her hand, but Kim was ready. Recovering instantly from her feigned fatigue, she called her Western style pistols and fired off a rapid volley of shots, scoring a direct hit on the box and the ghost Ranger's neck, chest and belt.

The next few seconds played out in slow motion and was almost like watching a TV screen instead of real life. The golden box exploded, the ghost Ranger lurched…first forward and then back, and then Kim watched in horror as the other pink Ranger simply began to dissolve in a shower of golden sparks.

* * *

"Mom!" Tommy exclaimed and all but jumped across the reception area where he'd been told to sit and stay quiet. His mom met him half way and he hugged her so hard he picked her up and all but swung her around. 

"Tell me why you weren't in school?" His mother reprimanded, but he could tell she was as relieved to see him as he was her. "Of all the days to play hooky young man." She scolded.

"I was worried about you." He said lamely.

"Come on." She said, grabbing his arm like he was a two year old and leading him out of the Police Station. "I was one of the first to be evacuated." She said as they walked down the steps. "I saw where the monster was headed, dumped the laundry and started packing whatever I could find."

"Tommy!" Aisha called, and he looked up to see his three friends running towards him.

"We uh…heard you might need a little help." Rocky said, jerking his chin toward the station behind him.

"They called my Uncle." Tommy said sheepishly, "He knew where my mom was."

"So…are you…uh…free to help us with some … homework?" Adam asked, not exactly sure what to say in front of Tommy's mother. For all they knew he was grounded for life.

"Oh…uh…yeah….that is…" He stumbled, turning to his mother. "Do you need help with the stuff from the apartment?"

Tommy's mother got the hint. He was happy to see her, but his social life was calling. "I'm fine honey…go play with your friends."

"If you need help…I can stay." Tommy said, honestly torn. He really did want to stay with his mother, kind of felt he should stay with her…their home was gone, even if it had been a temporary home, and there was a transition period to adjust to…but his duty as a Ranger came first; even if he couldn't tell her that's where he was going.

"No….go. I'm serious. It's only one laundry basket. Thank God most of our stuff is still in storage…we lost all the clothes and furniture…but I did manage to get some photos and your old blanket out of your room."

"My karate stuff?" He asked hopefully, his friends, just for the moment, forgotten as she shook her head and gave him almost an apologetic look. For the first time, it dawned on him that all his stuff was gone.

"Just your pillowcase with the blanket inside it." She said. "That was all I could think of."

"Mom…I had hundreds of dollars of equipment in my room…and you saved my old blanket?" Tommy asked incredulously.

"Honey, I had less than five minutes and one laundry basket. All I could think of that fast was Mr. Woobiewoo…" She said earnestly, and Tommy's eyes softened a little towards her, only to turn and glower at the snickering of his friends behind him. "I'm sorry honey," His mom admitted, realizing she'd managed to embarrass him again in front of his friends. She stretched up and ruffled his hair. "Well, it was important to me at least." She said, trying to help him save a little face.

"Yeah… alright mom…" He said, torn between hugging her and hitting one of his friends. "Thanks again for coming to get me, but…can I…maybe…meet you later?"

"Oh…sure…" She answered, trying hard to be the understanding mom who'd let him run off with his friends when all she wanted to do was take him home and make sure he stayed safe. "We're going to be staying over at your Uncle John's for a while."

"Great." He said, smiling thinly. She returned the same thin smile and held her hand up in a goodbye. He returned the gesture, then she turned and walked back to the car, thinking that sometimes she wished he was still a child instead of half grown and pretending he didn't need her anymore. Only as she opened her car door did she realize she'd forgotten to ground him for skipping school, but he was already off in the other direction with his friends.

"Mr. Woobiewoo?" Aisha snickered as they turned as a group and walked in the other direction.

"I was two." He snarled and the other three snickered again.

"And yet it was still under your pillow…" She giggled.

"I use it as a pillow." He said firmly. "How's Kim doing?" He asked, changing the subject, the snarl still in his voice. "I think I saw the monster disappear."

"The monster's gone." Adam said, trying his best not to grin. "But we still don't have our powers back."

"Let's get back to the Power Chamber then." He said firmly.

* * *

"Michael!" Kim shouted, as she ran forward to where her brother was lying face down in the grass. He wasn't anywhere near the collapsed apartment building. Alpha had located him back in the park, near the school. "Are you alright?" She asked, kneeling down to help him. 

"Where am I?" He asked in a daze.

"You're all right now." She said gently, handing him his blue box of cards.

"Whoa….the pink Ranger!" He squealed, voice raising about four octaves, and only then did Kim remember that she was still morphed. "Wait…Kimberly said that the Pink Ranger wasn't really the pink Ranger."

"It's ok." Kim assured him. "I need to take you home now."

"You're not going anywhere." Her own voice came back at her.

As one, she and Michael both looked up, and both saw the ghostly image of the resident Kimberly standing a few feet away from them.

* * *

"But if the box is destroyed, why don't we have our powers back yet?" Rocky asked. 

"I am unsure." Zordon responded solemnly. "It is possible that the freeze on your powers is only temporary now that Zedd's golden box has been destroyed or it could be that the pink Ranger's spirit still remains in this dimension."

"Ai yi yi!" Alpha fretted, hands gyrating widely, "Zordon, I'm picking up Kimberly…I mean our Kimberly…I mean not the Alternate Kimberly… Ai yi yi, I don't know what I mean. The sensors are picking up two identical life forces for Kimberly in the Park!"

"How is that possible?" Adam asked as they all crowded around the viewing globe.

"I only see Kimberly and her brother…I mean, the Alternate Kimberly and her …uhm, brother…" Rocky said hesitantly.

"Zordon, if we don't have our powers… and Alpha's picking up two Kimberlys…"

"Yes Tommy, your perception is accurate. Apparently the Alternate was successful in destroying Zedd's link to the morphin grid, but not the spirit of your former teammate." Zordon answered.

"Zordon I need to help her." Tommy insisted.

"I am afraid this is an encounter that Kimberly must face alone."

"At least let me help Michael….get him out of there and take him home….Give Kim one less thing to worry about."

"Very well Tommy, but you must not interfere with the Alternate's interaction with the resident Kimberly's spirit. I feel this is an important juncture and one that the two Kimberlys must decide between themselves.

"I promise Zordon." Tommy assured, quickly transporting out before Zordon could change his mind. He couldn't let Kim face the ghost on her own again, he had to find some way to help. If anything happened to her…

* * *

"But what about the ghost?" 

"Michael get out of here! Go home…"

"But…that's my sister!" He screeched, pointing at the specter. "She's…she's….dead!"

"Michael…calm down…it's not what you think" She said, putting both gloved hands on either side of his face in an effort to draw his attention away from the ghostly image. She wasn't sure why the specter hadn't attacked again, but she wasn't going to take any chances with Michael being there. "Look…" Taking a huge risk of de-morphing, she popped the latches on her helmet and pulled it off to reveal her face. "I'm just fine. I'm alright. I'm right here."

"How?" Her brother asked incredulously, eyes wide.

"You know I got hurt right? This demon she…well never mind how it happened, but the truth is we're kind of like two halves of the same coin that got split somehow. I'm what's left of the living and breathing Kimberly, I'm still alive, but…I'm kind of lost." She said as honestly as she could. "The ghost is Kimberly too, the Kimberly you remember… who loved gymnastics and fighting with you. We're different, but we're both Kimberly."

"So the ghost got broken off when you got hurt?" He asked cautiously.

"More like, I'm the Kim that survived and woke up to find myself lost in a strange world and She's the Kimberly that didn't survive and found that her world was lost to her …"

"So what do we do about her?" Michael asked earnestly. "I mean, do we have to put her back inside you or something?"

"I don't know what to do with her." Kim said honestly. "But I do know you have to get out of here before she gets angry again. Please…go home."

"But…what about you?"

"Just leave the ghost to me, ok?" She said, ruffling his hair gently.

"You're really a Power Ranger?" He asked a bit incredulously, hesitantly touching the pink spandex of her uniform with a cautious finger.

"Always have been." She said flippantly. "But you can't say anything Michael." She added seriously. "If anyone knew you … I could really use your help, especially with mom, but if you don't think you can keep this to yourself…well, there are ways to make you forget…"

"No way!" Her brother all but shouted. "This is the coolest thing in the entire universe! My sister's a Power Ranger!"

"We'll see how cool you think it is when you keep having to make excuses for me." She said wryly.

"Are you kidding?" He said in a sassy voice. "I've been making excuses for you for years." He said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Alright then. Let's start now. Go home and tell mom I'm safe and I'll be home after the all clear sounds."

"You bet!" He said, spinning around, and running towards the house.

Kim sighed heavily. She wasn't sure it was a good idea to involve an eleven year old in Ranger secrets, but she had to make him leave and, she had to admit, it would to be really nice to have another ally in this world.

She lifted her helmet, but as she began to put it back on, she caught a brief blue flash from the corner of her eye fly directly towards her. She whirled and faced the ghost of her alternate head on. "I don't want to fight you Kimberly. I didn't ask to survive."

"I know that." The ghost answered calmly, surprising her. "Don't worry," She said, holding up a shimmering hand. "I'm not here to fight. Zedd's not in control of me anymore. I just want answers."

"He's not?" Kim asked, surprised and a little confused.

"No." The ghost said, shaking her head. The loose brown curls seemed to hover around her eerily. She seemed perfectly calm, almost floatingly serine. "I want to know who you are."

Kim paused. She just couldn't trust that the ghost wasn't trying to trick her. She couldn't chance revealing herself. The risk was too great. "I don't know what you mean. I'm you."

"No." The ghost said, shaking her head and again the curls bounced around her. "You're not. You're something different. Me…but not me."

"I'm the you that has to go on here, that has to stay here and fight with the Rangers and keep this world safe."

The ghost seemed to consider this, tilting her head to one side. "But not the me that wants to go to the Pan Games and loved my room and all my stuffed animals…"

"True. I think that part stayed with you." Kim said hesitantly. The ghost's eyes seemed to narrow on her, watching, waiting.

"I don't want it to be over yet." She said at last. "I don't trust you with my life here."

"Kemora destroyed both our lives. Can't you understand I had everything taken from me too? I'm starting completely over in a strange world that I know nothing about…or what I do know is all mixed up."

"Oh please, you just walked into my life like I never left.: The ghost argued. "It's not fair. You're going around and cancelling out everything that was ever important to me. My music, my collections, gymnastics, school…."

"You hated that life." Kim said evenly. "I read your diaries."

"I didn't hate it." The ghost said sullenly. "I didn't like some parts of it, but I really wanted to go to the Games. There was a huge part of me that was so proud of myself for that…mom was so proud of me for that… and you just ran out and gave it up like it meant nothing."

"She would have been proud of you regardless." Kim said seriously. "Some part of you knows that don't you? She'd have wanted you to be happy."

"Like she wants you to be happy?" The ghost countered and Kim nodded.

"She loves us." Kim said.

"_She loved me_!" The ghost shrieked and Kim regretted her words. For a moment, she thought she might actually get through to her. "_I want my life back!_ " The ghost howled at her. "You're just going to mess everything up!"

"Probably." Kim said flatly and the ghost stopped railing and seemed to stare at her with huge mournful eyes. "Look, I'm not you…you're taking you with you." She said earnestly. "I'm me. Supposedly we're the same person, but I'm making different choices for myself." She said earnestly.

"That's obvious." The ghost said waspishly. "It's not fair that you get to live my life and I don't."

"No," Kim said firmly. "I don't get to live your life. I get _a_ life…one, singular. A place to keep on living because I can't change what happened anymore than you can. I can't live your life the way you wanted it, but I can start over again and try to make one for myself."

"My mom doesn't even know what happened to me!" The ghost wailed.

"Your mom misses you." Kim answered. "I'm you, but I'm also not you. Somewhere inside she's grieving for that difference. Your friends also miss you and, whether or not he knows it, your brother misses you too."

The ghost just stared at her. If ghosts had tears, it seemed to Kim that she was crying. The vision blurred a bit and crossed her arms impatiently.

"Zordon's right Kimberly." Kim said, taking a more confident step forward. "You can't stay here. You have to make peace with what happened or you're gonna wander around forever. It's not fair that Kemora destroyed both our lives, but I can't help it that I didn't die. All we can do now is go on like we're supposed to. Me back to the Rangers and to fighting to save this world and everything you loved so much in it… and you to whatever destiny the Power is calling you to."

"I don't want to go." The ghost said with heartbreaking sadness.

"I know." Kim responded with equal melancholy. "Believe me, I didn't want to stay."

"So what do we do now?" He alternate asked her.

"What can we do? We have to forgive ourselves and go on from there." Kim said, huge wet tears rolling down her face in a steady stream. "Neither of us are guilty of letting anyone down Kimberly. Neither of us failed either the Rangers, or our families, or even ouselves. We did what fate and the Power decided for us."

"You'll take care of mom?" The ghost asked her cautiously. "She just pretends to be strong; the divorce crushed her you know. She really needs me…you."

"I can do that." Kim said hesitantly. "I can try harder to be a little more…diplomatic."

"And don't give away Grumble." The ghost said firmly.

"What?"

"Grumble the Magic Elf. It's a storybook and doll that my dad gave me. Don't give them away. It's one of the few good memories I have of him and his dad."

"Okay." Kim said hesitantly. "I'll go find them and bring them back in."

The ghost nodded as if satisfied and the two stared at each other for a few moments. "Where am I going now?" She asked.

"I don't know." Kim said honestly. "I suppose you're starting over just like I am."

Again the ghost nodded and then looked over her shoulder as if someone had called to her. She looked back at Kim and smiled sadly. "Good luck with life Kim." She said and the image of her began to fade slowly.

"Good journey Kimberly." Kim responded.

The ghost waved slightly, still fading. "And good luck with Tommy…he really likes you ya know…" She said with a slight grin, then turned and walked slowly through the trees of the park. Eventually, Kim saw the light fade completely and she realized for the first time that the sun had set and the street lights were just beginning to flicker on. She started to put on her helmet again, then changed her mind and powered down; placing her coin in her pocket.

"That uhm…that was really well said." Tommy said hesitantly, stepping out from behind a rather large bush and genuinely scaring her. She jumped and he put out a cautious hand to steady her.

"How long have you been there?" She asked, heart pounding wildly in her chest and ears.

"Oh uhm…" He turned and gestured down the sidewalk. "Since you… you know, told your brother you're a Ranger."

"And you just stood there?"

"I didn't want to…well, I thought, well…what you were saying, I wasn't so sure you wanted company, but I also didn't want to move in case she saw me."

"So what was well said?" She asked, slightly embarrassed.

"I meant what you said about how the two of you can't feel guilty about it. That fate put you where you're supposed to be. You're right you know. It wasn't your fault that you lived and your team didn't anymore than it was my fault I couldn't save Kimberly from Kemora. I mean, I tried, I _really_ did… and then I felt so guilty that I really like you being here. It was almost like I was being disloyal or something."

"You really like me being here?" She said with a small, almost coy smile, then caught herself. She was a replacement, nothing more, and she needed to remind herself of that and not change this world's timeline. Still, there was a little butterfly in her stomach that fluttered a bit, knowing her liked her there.

"Oh yeah!" He said enthusiastically, then stepped back a step, catching himself as well. "That is, I mean…you're a really good Ranger…I mean…_really good_. You're a real asset to the team." He added, grimacing a bit as the words tumbled out. " Kimberly tried, and she was a good team player, sometimes, but you…well you're a real fighter. The team's gonna do really well with you around." He finished in a rush, then kicked himself mentally. That wasn't at all what he'd wanted to say.

"Oh." She said simply, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. Of course that was what he meant. He liked having her around because she was good at what she did and he felt guilty because she was better at it than the Kimberly she'd replaced. Her mind drifted back to her Tommy and how enthralled he'd been with Katherine Hillard.

She'd been terribly disappointed her Tommy hadn't seen her romantically, but she'd been very happy for him when he found Kat; even though Kat had effectively banned her from hanging out with him anymore outside the Rangers. This Ranger crew might be older than she was, but time still had to play out the way it was supposed to. Once Rita came back, this Tommy would most likely fall head over heels for his Katherine too. It was better she squashed the butterflies now rather than be disappointed again later.

"Can I uhm…walk you home?" He asked hopefully. A slight breeze blew through her hair and he could smell the perfume of her shampoo. It was almost more than he could do not to reach out and touch the short brown strands, but he held himself absolutely still.

"Sure." She said with a slight smile and then turned down the sidewalk, arms tightly crossed across her chest. She liked this Tommy a lot; maybe even more than her Tommy. They seemed to have a lot more in common and it was so much easier to talk to him. She would miss him a lot more than her Tommy when the time came.

Maybe, she thought to herself as they walked silently down the sidewalk together, maybe she should help him out and introduce him to Katherine before Rita came back. Then maybe Kat wouldn't be quite as jealous of her. If she introduced them, encouraged them, then maybe they could all remain friends. A small little ache encircled her heart at the thought, but she squashed it. She had no right to change history; it could change the whole outcome of this world. Tommy belonged with Katherine, that's the way history had to play out and that was exactly what she was going to see happen.

Tommy walked next to her, honoring the silence that had fallen between them. His thoughts rambled along, just as hers did, but he found himself noticing how small she was, how her steps almost floated across the pavement. He watched as the wind ruffled her hair and noticed how her eyelashes fluttered up and down. She had to be the most perfect girl ever created.

She was the exact duplicate of the other Kimberly, yet she was so entirely different. He'd been a little attracted to the other Kimberly, but not like this. The others were right; he had it bad. He loved everything about this Kimberly, the way she walked, the way she talked, the way she smelled. He loved the fight in her eyes when they went into battle, adored listening to her confide in him. He just didn't know if she felt the same…and if she did…then how did he tell her?


	12. Chapter 12: Shades of Pink

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 12: Shades of Pink

* * *

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. __All thing Carri belong to KJ, with __m__any thanks._

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe

* * *

**_

**Author's note:** Sorry guys, if I was going to bring Kat into the picture, I just couldn't resist bringing Carri in too; she's just perfect for stirring up conflict. If you go to KJ's website and read her earliest stories, you'll see that the original character of Carri started off at Angel Grove High when the Rangers were about 17. In the spirit of Alternate Universes, I've changed her history again, just like I did with Kim, answering the question of what would have happened if Carri hadn't been moved to NY by her parents, but stayed in California.

* * *

Kim sighed heavily as she left the girls locker room. It felt good to have a martial arts uniform on again, even if she felt a little self conscious about not having a belt around her waist. Although Kim had studied both Karate and Tae Kwon Do with her Tommy and Jason, the other Kimberly had never had a martial arts class in her life; her fighting skills had come with her coin. It would have been odd for the Alternate to start taking classes at the Youth Center as anything but a no-belt, but it was still a bit weird to have the lose fitting fabric billow around her instead of tied securely down. 

Fortunately, she wasn't the only Ranger starting the class beltless, she'd convinced Billy to sign on with her as well. Tommy had rolled his eyes when he saw the new class list, but he'd also grinned at her. He'd been trying for the better part of the year to get Billy interested in classes and Kim had managed to convince him in less than ten minutes. Kim had also weaseled her little brother into signing on, so she'd be in good company standing in the back row.

As she made her way to the mat, she paused at the sound of a familiar laugh. Looking up, she saw the blond head of Katherine Hillard engaged in an animated conversation with another girl she didn't recognize. She stopped momentarily, chewing her lip uncertainly, then made her decision and turned in the other girl's direction. As she approached, the other girls turned, then Kat started in surprise as she recognized her.

"Hey…" Kim said uncertainly, then, when the other girl simply stared at her, she added. "I'm Kim."

"Yes, I know…" The other girl responded, then seemed to recover from her surprise at being singled out, closing her eyes in a long blink and shaking her head. "I mean…yes, uhm…I'm Katherine…Kat."

"Yeah…" Kim said uneasily, nodding and trying hard to force herself to remember the two didn't know each other very well in this world. "We know each other from school right?" She asked hesitantly.

"We have second period together." Kat offered, glancing quickly at her friend. "At least, we used to…are you feeling better?" She offered politely. Kimberly Hart, the single most popular girl at Angel Grove High, had never bothered to talk to her, a new student, before and it was a little disconcerting. Aside from an initial comment that the Australian born new girl had a cute accent, Kimberly had hardly acknowledged her existence at all. It was strange at best that she'd seek her out in the Youth Center and even stranger that she'd be wearing an oversized karate uniform and virtually no makeup when she did so.

"Much better." Kim offered, smiling and nodding her head a bit uncomfortably. Talking to Kat had never really been easy. The two had very little in common on her world and her Kat had been insanely jealous of her association with her Tommy. "Still a bit confused…" She stumbled. "Everything's kind of mixed up, but I'm getting used to it."

"Oh." Kat replied, not really sure what to say. "Well, it's good that you're recovering." She said, and a silence fell between them for a few seconds as neither really knew what to say.

"Look…uhm, this might sound really weird…" Kim rushed ahead, twisting her fingers together nervously, "But were we friends?" She asked with as much of an earnest look and she could manage. On her world, she and Kat hadn't exactly been what she'd call amiable, but maybe, if she tried a little harder this time around, she and Tommy could stay friends when he finally met and fell for the young blond.

At least, that's what she was hoping would happen. She'd come to depend on Tommy's friendship and simply couldn't stand the idea of being barred from him over a stupid thing like jealousy. She'd never really understood why her world's Kat had hated her so much. It wasn't like her Tommy had paid her much attention outside the Power Chamber. They had been Rangers together, that was all, and absolutely nothing had been able to turn his head from the pretty blond once he'd rescued her from Rita; even if Kim had secretly wished something would.

"Oh…" Kat said, obviously surprised and unsettled by her question. "Uhm…well…"

"It's just that, I don't remember very much…I mean…I have very little memory of anything before a few weeks ago and what I think I remember isn't always what really…kind of…is…" Kim stumbled.

"Oh…well, not really… that is, we're more like acquaintances." Kat fumbled, searching for the politest way to explain that the two basically belonged to different clicks and totally ignored each other. "Why would you ask?"

"Because you waved at me in class…and…it was kind of…nice to see a friendly face." Kim offered lamely.

"Oh…" Kat said hesitantly, looking over at the other girl and then back to Kim, "Uhm…well…it's just that…" She stood hesitantly and faced the shorter girl, obviously a little embarrassed. "It's just that… I had heard that you were really hurt badly and that, well…everyone knew you were going to the Pan Games and then you were injured and now you probably can't go…"

"And that's why you waved at me?" Kim asked, brow knotted up and honestly confused by her response.

"It's just that…" Again Kat looked hesitantly at the other girl. "It's like this…" She said with a heavy sigh. "The reason I came here to the States is because I was also supposed to go to the Games, as a diver, but I…well… I misjudged the distance and hit my head…" She stopped and took a deep breath. "I almost drowned. I can't…I can't dive anymore." She finished, looking everywhere but at Kim.

"Really?" Kim asked, honestly stunned. She knew that her Kat had been a competing swimmer of some sort, but she never knew she'd been a Pan Games hopeful.

"Yeah." Kat said softly, chewing her lip. "I know what it's like…to lose that dream. I know how hard it is to start all over after years of focusing on only one thing and build a new life doing something else."

"I…don't remember anything about gymnastics." Kim said tentatively.

"You don't?" Kat asked, eyes meeting hers.

"Nope." Kim answered with a weak smile. "I don't remember much of anything really… but don't feel bad about it… it's not like I'm disappointed or anything. The whole thing has been a lot harder on my family than me. It's like my brain got all jumbled up and I'm….well, I'm kind of starting over with everything. I'm supposedly not anything like I was…you know, before…" She added, scrunching her face up.

"That's obvious." The other girl at the table offered. Kim turned and met a pair of sharp brown eyes regarding her from beneath long dark brown bangs.

"Oh…" Kat interjected "I'm sorry… it's rude of me not to introduce you two. Uhm…Kimberly, this is my cousin Carri. I live at her house while I'm here in the States."

"Nice to meet you." Kim said, raising her hand slightly in a small wave.

"Yeah…right…" The other girl shot back with a humph.

"I take it we know each other?" Kim offered hesitantly, not really sure she wanted the answer to that.

"Carri…be nice." Kat admonished in a harsh whisper. "She just said she doesn't remember anything."

"She said she doesn't remember much…" Carri countered. "…that doesn't mean she's forgotten everything."

"So what'd I do to you?" Kim asked sardonically, meeting the other girl's glare head on, but with her gut sinking. She was encountering more and more people her alternate had pissed off in some way or another. It was getting to the point where she almost didn't believe the claims of her teammates that the other Kimberly had been really sweet.

"I used to cheer for Stone Canyon before the merge this year." Carri replied severely, crossing her arms across her chest. "Captain of the team to be exact…but you cut me during the Angel Grove tryouts in August; saying cheerleading was for girls…not dikes."

Kim wasn't entirely sure what to say, so she simply winced. Stone Canyon and Angel Grove had always been heavy rivals and she knew that the Angel cheer pack was more than capable of ruthlessly snubbing those they didn't want. "Let me take a wild guess and say that particular phrase came from Cherry?" Kim offered, thinking of the other Kimberly's former best friend and cheer teammate. Cherry had come from Stone Canyon as well and Aisha had delighted in regaling the new Kim on all the antics she'd pulled in her bid for social power at Angel Grove.

"Your bestest little buddy." Carri shot back with a sticky sweet smile that could have melted metal like pure acid.

"Look…" Kim said, shoulders deflating a little. If this was Katherine's cousin, and the other Kimberly had already alienated her, then maybe it was already too late to become friends with Kat. "I don't remember any of it…but if it helps, I can't stand Cherry Pingly and her goons.."

Carri gave her an unbelieving look, but instead of responding, shifted her gaze off to the side as if just noticing something. Following the other girl's eyes, Kim watched Tommy approach the small group.

"You ready?" He asked, coming up beside her and grinning infectiously. He was thrilled Kim had signed on and could barely contain his enthusiasm. Now he had a legitimate excuse to see her twice a week, every week, and to even actually touch her from time to time…as an instructor of course.

"Yeah, I think so." She responded. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She had wanted a chance to befriend Katherine before Tommy's attention was diverted, yet here he was…and there she was…and there was really no good reason not to introduce him to her. "Uhm…Tommy, this is Katherine and her cousin Carri." She said, indicating the two girls with her hand. She swallowed hard, waiting for the reaction her Tommy had had when Kat first walked into their Youth Center… the day her secret and unspoken wish had been crushed… but it didn't happen.

"Oh yeah…hi." He said in a friendly tone, eyes turning to them briefly, but almost as if he really hadn't noticed the pair or as if they were incidental. Turning his attention back to Kim he noted with a grin, "Your uniform is too big."

"I know…" She said, a small frown on her face. When her Tommy had first been introduced to Kat, he'd gone all moony almost immediately. This Tommy wasn't responding at all the way she thought he would. Once again, little shivers of doubt and uncertainly fluttered around in her stomach. She couldn't change history…she wouldn't change history. It could spell disaster for this world if she interfered and didn't allow the proper course of things to fall into place.

Kim had been to enough worlds with Thomas to know that history sometimes needed tweaking. Sometimes even the slightest little thing could send it spiraling out of control. That's why she'd been brought to this world. It was a chance for her to survive, but it was also a chance to erase the error of the other Kimberly's premature death. That didn't mean she had the right to change its timeline though. Somehow, she had to get his attention focused on the other girl.

"Uhm...that is…" She stumbled. "The next size down is too tight, and both are too long. I thought I'd go a size larger and hem the pants last night, but apparently my mom doesn't have a sewing machine and I ran out of time…"

"It's fine." He said dismissively, still grinning. He loved it, she looked like one of his four year olds, absolutely swallowed by a mountain of thick white uniform fabric, but he didn't dare tell her that. "Just roll them up for now, it'll fit better once you put a belt on…which reminds me, belt tests are next Friday afternoon, when Master Potter's here, you'll need to make sure you're here and your patches are on your gi."

"Oh… can I…can you excuse us for a second?" She asked, turning to Kat and Carri, who nodded.

She pulled Tommy a little ways away and he leaned in to hear what she had to say, nose immediately assaulted by the perfume she was wearing. It sent his mind reeling and made it difficult to focus, but he loved it… absolutely nothing could ruin this day for him.

"I don't want to test without my brother." She said softly, but firmly.

"Why not?" He asked, frowning. He thought it was awesome he'd get to see her twice a week outside the Rangers, but he also thought it was a bit stupid for her to hold back. His Kimberly hadn't been interested in martial arts, so he totally understood why she had to start as a no-belt, but Kim was almost a black belt on her world, and not just in Karate. He didn't want her to hold back and fake it, he wanted her to sail through her tests and then train with him and the other guys at Master Potter's academy; they could have real fun then.

"This isn't about me outshining my little brother, once again, in sports." She said firmly, eyes locking onto his. "I convinced my mom we needed to take karate for self defense, because things are so uncertain now in Angel Grove, but I really want Michael to develop some self confidence. He's a total couch potato and won't go out for any activities because sports was always…_my_…thing." She said, trying her best to let him know what she was talking about but also keeping her promise to Zordon not to talk about the other Kimberly or her status as an alternate on this world; just in case someone was listening. "I don't want to just skyrocket through this and have him feel like he's being totally overshadowed again."

"Faking what you do or don't know isn't the answer either." He replied. "I'm not gonna let you pretend to be a beginner. Everyone starts in the same place, but I already know what you can do and I'm not gonna let you slide just to make your brother feel good."

"_I am a beginner_." She insisted, giving him a hard look. "No matter what I might have picked up on the side."

"Kim…I dunno…."

"Please?" She begged, putting as much appeal in her large brown eyes as she could. She wasn't much for using feminine charm, didn't really believe she had any, but that particular look had worked on him before and this was important to her. True to form, his resistance melted, she could see it in his face. "I just want Michael to do well and I want us to do this together." She continued. "I won't slide, but I want to move up with him at his speed. Belts don't mean that much to me, I know what I can do, doing this together with my brother means so much more to me."

"All right." Tommy said in a defeated tone. "But I'm not letting you slack off." He warned, pointing a finger for emphasis.

"That's fine, I'll work hard." She promised, nodding for emphasis.

"That's fine_ sir_…" He admonished as he turned to leave. "You're in _my_ class." He called over his shoulder. "Off the mat you can call me whatever you like, but on the mat I'm the instructor."

"That's fine…_sir_…" She replied cheekily to his back, but he didn't turn around and she chuckled despite herself.

"That's interesting." Carri drolled, noting the playful banter between the two, the adoring look the boy gave her, and the twinkle in her Kim's eyes as she won her case. She'd heard the conversation, even if her cousin had pretended not to. It was painfully obvious Tommy Oliver had it bad for her and even more obvious she was completely oblivious; although she'd worked him over pretty easily. Something wasn't right here. Carri knew people, they fascinated her, and something was definitely not kosher where Kimberly Hart's behavior was concerned; she was too nice…too …scary nice.

Carri ground her jaw together as she mulled over the latest turn of events. It was certainly odd that the infamous Queen Kimberly was attending a martial arts class, let alone slumming it by attending one in a public Youth Center, but taking a class taught by a boy from school instead of at a fancy academy, taking it with her little brother, and not wanting to move up until the brother did? That was definitely not her reputation. If Carri knew anything about Kimberly Hart, and the two had all but been at war with each other since the beginning of the school year, it was that she was viscously competitive, had nothing to do with high school boys, and absolutely had to be the center of attention; at anyone's expense. Maybe she really did have brain damage.

"Excuse me?" Kim asked, turning toward the girl at her comment.

"So Tommy's your new man?" Carri asked, changing the subject and ignoring her cousin's uncomfortable shift. Kat had been pining for Tommy since her first day of school. Personally, long haired guys with earrings weren't her thing, but she had hoped her cousin could get his attention; Kat needed a little happiness in her life.

"Oh! Uhm…no." Kim said firmly, glancing at Kat. "We're friends." She insisted, putting a heavy emphasis on the word friends. "That's all."

"Interesting." Carri replied, but didn't elaborate, not even when Kim gave her a curious look.

"Well, I should get going." Kim said, giving Carri another curious look. "It was nice to see you Kat…Carri." She said, nodding to each. Turing back to Kat she asked, "Maybe we could go shopping sometime?"

"Oh…uhm…sure…" the other girl answered hesitantly, glancing at her cousin. The truth was, she kind of liked this new Kimberly, but family was family and if Carri was going to pursue her own personal grudge against the girl, then she'd back off.

"Well, I'm sure I'll see you around." Kim said, then excused herself and moved toward the mat where her brother and Billy were waiting.

"That was too weird." Carri said when she was gone, giving her cousin a significant look and then focusing on finishing off her smoothie.

"You could have been a little nicer." Kat admonished.

"Why would I do that?" Carri asked blandly, purposely making a loud noise through the straw as she drained the last of her drink; that kind of thing drove her cousin nuts.

"Because she's been through a lot. She was attacked by a monster and seriously hurt, she's all but lost her bid for the Pan Games, and it's rumored she's lost her memory and possibly suffered permanent brain damage. She's the most seriously hurt civilian since the monster attacks began…if you don't count the ones who have died….she's certainly the most famous person injured."

"She's definitely acting like she'd got brain damage." Carri snorted. "You're too kind-hearted, you know that? That little bitch has even scored your boy and you're still sitting here talking sweet about her."

Kat shrugged uncomfortably. It wasn't as if she liked Kimberly Hart all that much, but it was kind of nice to be noticed by her. Even if Kimberly didn't remember gymnastics, her own injuries were still fresh enough that her heart still bled for the girl. Missing out on the first qualification rounds for the Pan Games in Australia had been crushing. Kat had gone from Australia's favorite diver to a nobody overnight and that had been really hard to adjust to.

Going to the States and attending high school with Carri really hadn't helped. She and her cousin had always gotten along like sisters when they were younger, but Carri's sweet, almost meek tempered personality had gone through a huge metamorphosis when she'd entered Stone Canyon High School and started varsity cheerleading.

She was in full teenage rebellious mode by the time the school district lines had shifted and losing out on the Angel Grove squad had brought out a bitter side that Kat just didn't like. Carri's mother had been furious at the snub and pushed her daughter into a private, competing, cheer squad, but Kat suspected her cousin's growing angst had more to do with teenage hormones and the martial trouble between her parents than any disappointment over cheerleading and popularity. Carri's dad was simply never around anymore and her mom had become domineering, to put it mildly. The harder her Aunt Becky insisted on a perfectly contrived teenage life for her daughter, the more acerbic Carri became.

Kat sighed heavily. Her cousin had bent over backwards to be nice to her, and she really did love her, but the two girls were like salt and sugar; great on their own, but rather nasty together. Kat wanted her own friends. Everyone in the family was still being overly nice to her. They were walking on eggshells around her, trying to boost her spirits and make her smile. She wondered briefly if that's what Kimberly was going through; everyone being overly pleasant to the point where you just wanted to scream and smack something.

"Tommy's not my boy." She answered distantly for lack of anything better to say. "I should have never told you I thought he was cute."

"Whatever." Carri said indifferently. "I'm outta here. You coming?"

"Yeah." Kat answered, eyes wandering over to the mat where the karate class was just starting. "Where are we going?"

"Things are gonna start getting loud in here now that that class has started." She said, following her cousin's line of sight. "I've got a paper due Monday. Library?"

"I'm done with my homework." Kat said absently, "But there's a novel I want to track down, so yes, that's fine." She gave one more look in Kimberly's direction, then allowed herself a little glance at Tommy up in the front. What would she do with a boyfriend anyway? She asked herself silently. Her mother had been adamant that she was too young to date seriously and her Aunt Becky was almost a strict. Still, Kimberly had insisted they were only friends…maybe it'd be nice…and Tommy was really cute.

* * *

Inside the Lunar Palace, Goldar was having a very bad day. Lord Zedd, frustrated by the demise of the evil Kimberly's ghost, had retired to his chamber to recharge, only to be infected with a love potion by an escaped Rita. It was inconceivable that his fortunes had changed that rapidly. Yesterday had been fine, today was disastrous. 

He had tried to warn his master that Finster and the others had betrayed him by supporting Rita's power grab, but it hadn't done any good. The potion was too strong and had been infused directly into the dark lord's system. Lord Zedd was blind to anything but his undying happiness at having won Rita's affection; it was disgusting.

Now the whole palace was celebrating the wedding of the millennia, but Goldar wasn't celebrating; he had a horrible headache. As monsters, demons, ghosts, goblins and a whole array of various universal baddies danced and gorged themselves, he paced the narrow balcony overlooking Earth.

Rita had won this round; he now had to fight for his life. He had sided with Lord Zedd against her when her power was ebbing and now he'd pay the price for it. He was a marked monster and Rita would soon have her revenge for his betrayal.

Somehow, someway, he had to break that spell. It shouldn't be difficult; love spells were notoriously unstable and the emotion itself fickle at best. The question was how to do it. Finster wouldn't help, he was thrilled to be needed again after Lord Zedd had all but closeted him… and now Rita had brought her idiot brother into the mix. Life was hell.

His every move was watched and suspected. It was a very uncomfortable position to be in. His master was oblivious; his head turned and his brain addled. Love, Goldar grumbled silently. It was the most repulsive emotion of all. Capable of turning even the most vile character into a simpering idiot. Love caused nothing but problems; it confused, blurred, and distracted.

There had to be a way around it. Goldar stopped his pacing and stared, red eyes glowing, at the illuminated silhouette of the Earth below. Until this morning, Earth had been the primary focus of his master, now love had shifted that focus onto a wicked, conniving, and, in his opinion, unworthy old hag. One thing was certain, Rita was back and now the game had changed again. Love, it seemed, was going to ruin them all.


	13. Chapter 13: Webbing Bells

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 13: Webbing Bells

* * *

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. __All things Carri belong to KJ; including __Rhianna_

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**_

Authors note: A huge thank you to KJ, who dealt with my twisted sense of humor for two and a half hours and still somehow managed to help me get my outlines straight and pull it all together so it works.

* * *

"Congrats guys!" Aisha said, raising her smoothie towards Kim and then Billy. "Your first official karate class." She finished with a flourish and the others raised their glasses in unison to meet hers. 

"So what do you guys think?" Tommy asked, looking directly at Kim. He was a little nervous. She was really good at what she did, but there were countless little minor variations that he'd had to correct; the angle of a fist, the direction of a pivot, the name of a move. He knew she hadn't been faking it; it was the difference in the way she'd learned it. All of it played into the appearance of her beginner status, but he'd also recognized the frustration in her eyes and it worried him.

"Morphinomical." Kim quipped with a saucy grin and the others around her laughed.

"It's actually quite a fascinating differentiation between the written technical depiction and the actual physical implementation of the art." Billy commented, nodding.

"What he said." Kim added, taking another sip of her smoothie, and again the Rangers laughed.

"I meant, did you guys like the class?" Tommy asked, but Aisha interrupted.

"That's him." She hissed in a loud whisper, grabbing onto Kim's shoulders and turning her roughly toward the entrance.

"The one that asked you to the Valentine's dance?" Kim asked, trying to figure out exactly which one of the football players gathering around Ernie's counter was the one in question.

"Aw man…" Adam groaned, "That thing is still more than six weeks away and you've got a date already?"

"Yep…" Aisha announced smugly. "Keith Kar, linebacker on the football team, with his very own car, asked me yesterday…can you believe it?" She squealed the last few words like a giddy little girl, squeezing Kim's arm in her excitement.

"He's cute…" Kim offered appreciatively as the subject of Aisha's squeal came into clearer view at Ernie's counter; noting that the boy had to be at least two feet taller than her friend, with massive broad shoulders for a teenager. She grinned at the mental image of the two dancing. "You better start practicing wearing those heels you were talking about."

"What the heck is he doing asking a girl six weeks in advance?" Rocky grumbled. "I mean, the thing was just announced Monday when we got back from winter break."

"Marge asked me yesterday." Billy piped up. "While we were in computer lab."

"So much for teaming up and going as a group again." Adam moaned, wondering who he'd ever get up the nerve to ask, then with a grin and mischievous side look at Tommy said, "At least Tommy knows who he wants to ask."

Tommy's eyes immediately widened and he shot Adam a look that said his friend was going to pay for that remark the next time the two met on the mat. He gave a Kim a hesitant look to see if she'd heard, but, to his mortification, she'd already turned around to face him.

"Really?" She asked. "Who?"

"Oh….uhm…" He stumbled, caught off guard and totally unprepared to ask the object of his affection to a dance in front of the entire team if she was just going to turn him down and insist on being just friends. "I, uh…they're just…giving me grief 'cause they have no idea who their gonna ask." He managed to choke out as coolly as possible; considering his neck and ears were completely on fire with embarrassment. "I don't…I mean…I'm not sure who'd even want to go to the dance with me." He mumbled.

"Well I know who'd like to go with you." Kim offered helpfully, completely oblivious to the fact that Aisha had snapped back around and all eyes were riveted on her.

"Really?" Tommy nearly squeaked.

"Mmm-hmmm." Kim said, swallowing a sip from her smoothie. "I have it on very good authority that Kat Hillard thinks your cute."

As one, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha choked and burst out laughing.

"What?" Kim asked, genuinely confused by their reactions. "What's so funny?"

"Girl…" Aisha said between giggles, "I think we need to have ourselves little talk…but after I go see my new boy." She added with a wink and a pat on Kim's shoulder. She stood up and moved away from the small group, toward the counter where her date for the dance had just spotted her and was waving.

"What did I say?" She asked again, but Rocky and Adam just began another round of snickering and Tommy shifted uncomfortably, while Billy looked as confused as she was. Anything they might of said, however, was interrupted by a familiar chirping sound from their communicators.

"Saved by the page." Adam snickered under his breath, stealing a glance at Tommy.

"Let's go." He said as sternly as he could manage. His entire face felt like it was on fire and he was sure it must be beet red by now. Kat Hillard? The girl she'd been talking to before his class? True, the new exchange student was really pretty; with long blond hair and blue flirty eyes. He'd noticed her before, but not enough to actively seek her out at school. Why in the world would Kim suggest her? Unless, of course, she was trying to tell him she wasn't interested herself and save him the embarrassment of suggesting they go to the dance together. The thought sank heavily in his stomach and suddenly his mood shifted from cloud nine to sub-zero.

He stole a glance at the Alternate as they very quietly slipped from the Juice Bar and out into the deserted hall. She met his eyes curiously and he looked quickly away, signaling the others to transport out.

* * *

"Rangers," Zordon greeted them as they entered the Power Chamber. "I'm afraid I have very disturbing news." 

"What is it Zordon?" Tommy asked.

"Rita Repulsa has returned…and it appears as though she has joined with Lord Zedd in matrimony."

Tommy's head jerked to one side, eyes fixing on the Alternate. She'd gone very white and seemed to sway a bit. "That's exactly what you said would happen." He said, eyes wide, despite his best effort to stay calm. Kim had told him all about how that had happened on her world… and what it had meant for their team.

"What's this?" Alpha asked, coming over to the small group.

"Kim said that's the same thing that happened on their world." Tommy explained. "She told me all about it. How Zedd and Rita joined forces against the Rangers, got married, and produced a baby monster named Thrax and an humanoid daughter name Rhianna."

"Rita…and Zedd…married?" Aisha asked incredulously.

"That's gross." Rocky added.

"Their gonna have kids?" Adam asked, face scrunched up in a look of disgust.

"That's one mental picture I can do without." Aisha commiserated.

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves." Zordon responded. "While it is true that alternate universes tend to settle along similar timelines, in no way is the future of this world dependent upon the history of another. Each will develop along its own path."

"But Zordon, Thomas said…" Kim protested.

"While I appreciate and value Thomas's opinions Kimberly," Zordon interrupted. "And I appreciate your concern, I must discourage you from referring to the past timeline of your world as a reference to the future of ours."

"But…" Kim protested, "I've already lived this. I know what's going to happen."

"It is true that some timelines will resemble one another closely Kimberly, and that major events often occur in tandem or in a similar order, however each alternate universe is unique, developing its own contours."

"But Zordon…"

"No Kimberly. Just as you resemble our former teammate, your timeline may also resemble ours. However, I must also stress that just as you have developed very differently from the Kimberly you replaced, so too has our world developed differently from your own. Do not depend too strongly on similarities that may or may not play out the way you perceive them; that practice could prove very dangerous for both you and this team of Rangers."

"Yes Zordon." Kim mumbled. She knew what was going to happen, she'd seen it on more than one world; not just her own. Zordon was wrong to dismiss her like that, she pouted silently. She had knowledge that could really help.

"One thing is certain," Zordon continued, this time addressing all the Rangers, "Rita has combined her power with Lord Zedd, dramatically shifting the balance of power on the morphin grid. We must proceed with caution until the playing field has settled."

As he spoke, the alarms blared and the Rangers turned as one to the viewing globe.

"Ai yi yi!" Alpha wailed. "Zordon, this is the most hideous monster yet!"

"What is it?" Adam asked, frowning.

Within the globe was a blue, spider-like creature. Three pairs of legs peeked out from beneath yards and yards of puffed out, bright peach organza while its fourth pair of legs poked through two poufy sleeves. Two huge, oversized, black bows were situated on either side of its multi eyed head, where its shoulders would otherwise have been, and another huge black satin bow decked its backside.

"Zedd and Rita have sent us their first monster." Zordon observed. "It is the Brachnomaid, possibly derived from one of Rita's own wedding attendants."

"That thing's a bridesmaid?" Aisha asked, face scrunched up. "And I thought the dress I had to wear in my Aunt's wedding was hideous."

"Oh no!" Alpha fretted. "Zordon look, it's attacking the civilians in the park!"

As the Rangers watched, the Brachnomaid stunned its victims with a smoky haze emitted from its bouquet of dead flowers, then engulfed them in a grey web-like substance. When the victims emerged from their cocoon, the color had been completely drained from their skin and clothing, leaving them looking like ghostly black and white copies.

"This is very serious Rangers." Zordon warned from above them. "Brachnomaid has the ability to drain the life force from her victims, increasing her own power and leaving them in a vulnerable zombie-like state."

"Don't worry Zordon, we'll stop it." Tommy said definitively and the others chorused their agreement. Within seconds, they were fully morphed and transporting out.

* * *

Goldar, giving up on his master and his master's giddy bride, left the throne room with sagging shoulders. Now that batty old witch was using the wedding party to attack the Rangers. The stupid spider had caught the bridal bouquet and earned the right to become Rita and Zedd's first joint monster venture. Could things possibly get worse? 

He looked over his shoulder again as he slipped from the room. At the very least Rita could have taken off that repulsive dress and given the thing some armor…but no, she and Zedd had combined their powers and simply morphed the thing into an even more gruesome caricature than they'd started with.

The way things were going, he mused silently as he shuffled down the fog filled hallway, maybe it would get lucky and simply scare the Rangers to death.

* * *

"Ah….Rangers….welcome!" The monster greeted them sweetly as they teleported in. "Welcome to the webbing of the century! I have it all planned….won't you join me?" Seeing a movement behind it, the spider-like creature jumped, spraying pink fog on something behind a rather large bush. Immediately, Bulk and Skull began gyrating wildly, then fainted. Brachnomaid sprayed them with webbing and as they emerged in black and white form, she squealed, "Oh look, the webbing singers are here!" 

"Oh gross…" Kim drolled, "Talk about Beetlejuice revisited…"

"Huh?" Aisha and Rocky asked together.

"Never mind…" Kim muttered. "Wrong universe..."

"We're here to put a stop to your wedding plans Brachnomaid!" Tommy yelled, shaking his fist as the others teamed up in formation around him.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." The monster hissed. "I really do hate webbing crashers. Looks like I'll have to call security on you!" She taunted.

The Rangers were expecting putties to emerge, but instead, large black birds with huge beaks fluttered out of Zedd's white lightening transport beams.

"Oh my gosh.." Kim exclaimed, backing up a little. "Tengas."

"What?" Tommy asked, turning to face her and getting nailed by a huge black, six foot tall, crow-like bird who took that particular second to fly forward at him.

The birdlike, armored beasts squawked loudly, over and over again, with annoying caw-like sounds causing Aisha to cover her helmet with her hands where her ears would be. One of the birds flew at her, as if to attack, but she blocked at the last moment and pushed it back with her arms. "Back off bird brain."

"Tengas." Kim said again over the noise. "This isn't good Tommy, they're a lot harder to fight than putties. They're morons, completely stupid, but really strong. You have to out think them."

As she spoke, three of the cawing creatures surrounded her and began circling; pecking at her with their beaks and scratching their clawed feet against the ground.

"Who are you calling moron pinkie?" One of the beasts taunted.

"They talk?" Adam asked as he dodged an attack by another feathery band swooping towards him.

Kim was having a seriously bad case of de ja vu. As black feathers fluttered around her, she began having flashbacks to the last few battles on her world. Putties were one thing, it was like going back in time to the tried and true, but the Tengas were totally different. Memories of her previous life assaulted her; of her dead team mates, of the aftermath of Kemora's possession, of the loss of her world.

It was too much and in a flurry of black feathers, she became just dizzy enough to lose her edge. The monster saw it and closed in, spraying her with a pink smoke that escalated the dizzy feeling, and she wilted into a fairly dramatic faint. The Tengas caught her and held her up as the monster sprayed her with webbing.

"Kim!" Tommy screamed, trying in vain to reach her. In his panicked struggle, the Tengas regrouped and closed in, holding him still while Brachnomaid turned sprayed him with webbing too.

Emerging in their zombie form, Kim and Tommy had de-morphed and appeared to have completely forgotten that they were Rangers. They looked like odd, black and white caricatures of their true selves; with dramatic, overly exaggerated movements. Oddly, they still rushed toward one another, as if the memory of being teammates was still intact.

"Oh goodie!" Brachnomaid squealed giddily, "Looks like the bride and groom are here! Come along Tengas!" She sang, turning and pulling up her poufy skirt as she marched away. Within seconds the monster, the Tengas, and all her victims, including Kim and Tommy, were transported away.

"What just happened?" Adam asked the others, stunned.

"I'm not sure I want to answer that." Rocky said uncertainly.

"Rangers!" Alpha called through their communicators. "Return immediately to the Power Chamber."

"No complaints from me on that one." Aisha said, and the Rangers teleported out.

* * *

"She did it!" Rita crowed. "Two Rangers in less than ten minutes! Oh Zeddikins, you're so marvelous…so brilliant, so wonderful…so…" 

"Now now my dear…it was your idea to use the bridal attendant…" Zedd cooed in response.

"I think I'm going to be sick…" Goldar growled from outside in the hall, dropping his head in his hands.

* * *

"Zordon…" Rocky said incredulously as the four remaining Rangers faced their mentor. "What's going to happen to them?" 

"Don't worry Rocky." Alpha cajoled. "I've checked and there isn't a court in the entire Intergalactic Community that will recognize this kind of ceremony under duress…except perhaps on Rheiga, but no one really listens to their opinions on these matters. "

"Who cares if it's not legal," Rocky exclaimed. "We have to stop it!"

"It may already be too late for that." Zordon said solemnly. "Behold the viewing globe."

The Rangers turned as one to the illuminated globe where an overly perky, black and white, zombie-like version of Kim was marching giddily down the aisle, surrounded by a hysterically laughing Rita, her new husband, and their court.

"Oh no…" Aisha exclaimed, "Zordon, we have to do something…they can't…they can't do that…they're not old enough!"

"For now, both Kimberly and Tommy are relatively safe in Rita's sub-dimension." Zordon answered reassuringly. "Lord Zedd's minions appear to be content to entertain themselves with their new puppets. What we must now focus on is a way to destroy Brachnomaid's bouquet of Nihnenteem death flowers, which will destroy the spell and release her victims.

"Besides," Alpha offered helpfully, "It's not the actual ceremony we have to be concerned with, it's the wedding night afterward."

"Alpha…" Zordon warned. "Now is not the time to discuss such contingencies with the Rangers."

"But Zordon, the Atanger ritual…Lord Zedd will surely follow it, if only to have his revenge on you and the Rangers. If the marriage is actually consummated, it will be virtually impossible to annul it later."

"Oh my god…" Aisha moaned, covering her face with her hands while the boys simply looked at each other in a combination of amusement and horror.

"Alpha," Zordon called, drawing the attention of the Rangers back to him and away from the viewing globe which now showed the zombie like versions of Kim and Tommy passionately kissing at the end of the monster ceremony. "We must focus our energies on reversing the monster's spell. Nihnenteem flowers tend to petrify and can prove difficult to destroy."

"We'll need to burn them with Neddverian coal fire." Alpha said knowingly, raising his metallic finger and nodding his head. "It's the only substance that will burn at the temperatures necessary and yet still remain portable enough for the Rangers to transport and easily handle during a confrontation."

"Then begin the preparations." Zordon responded, darkening the viewing globe least the Ranger's attention be drawn back to it.

As the young Rangers moved away and began to focus on the tasks Alpha assigned them, he allowed himself the luxury of a frown. These events had been unforeseen by him and he needed time to fully comprehend their ramifications.

Zordon was not unaware of how the timelines had played out in other dimensions. Some dimensions moved faster while others tended to lag behind. He was an interdimensional being, like Thomas, and although Rita's entrapment in his energy tube left him no longer able to communicate with his alternate selves, he still understood where he needed to take his Rangers and the desired goals of the Guardians of the continuum.

On the one hand, a union between the Alternate and their dimension's Tommy was very desirable. It would produce a notoriously stable timeline with heirs that would solidify the dimension in the green zone; devoted to good. However, on the other hand, the Alternate had survived possession by the Muirantian demon Kemora…and that opened a plethora of possibilities where the young girl might be better unencumbered by a mate.

He knew exactly what Thomas had in mind by hiding the girl from the Guardians. It was a difficult dilemma and one where he was not entirely sure how to proceed.

* * *

It took far longer to assemble the weapon utilizing Zordon's small Nihnenteem coal supply than Zordon and the Rangers had anticipated. So long, that the Brachnomaid and the Tengas were already back in the park terrorizing more civilians when the remaining four Rangers transported out to meet her. 

"Well, well Rangers." She laughed. "I had such fun with the last webbing, I thought I'd plan another. Any volunteers? You Rangers make such cute couples."

"Your matchmaking days are over Brachnomaid." Rocky shouted.

"Party pooper." The monster shot back.

"Ready guys?" Rocky called.

"Ready!" They responded, moving into formation and assembling various parts of a small cannon.

"Now!" Rocky shouted, and the weapon fired a huge roman candle like plume of sparks in the monster's direction.

The sparks consumed Brachnomaid and her toxic bouquet. She screamed, first in outrage and then rather pitifully as she melted into a multi colored gooey mess on the grass. Sinking into the slime that had once been the Brachnomaid, the bouquet of Neddverian death flowers caught fire and then melted into the ooze.

"That was easy." Aisha said, standing back up and dusting herself off from where the back kick of the cannon had tossed her.

"A little too easy." Adam said hesitantly as they waited for some sign of the release of their friends.

The Rangers turned and looked around the quiet park. The sticky remains of the Brachnomaid continued to bubble and boil on the grass as the Nihnenteem coal particles continued to heat the ooze; even the Tengas were suddenly, conspicuously, absent.

"Uhm…Zordon?" Rocky asked hesitantly, but even as he spoke the Brachnomaid's victims began reappearing one by one in the exact order they'd been taken. Last to appear were the unmorphed Kim and Tommy and the other Rangers rushed forward, vocal in their relief.

"Are you guys ok?" Aisha asked, hugging Kim in relief.

"Yeah…I think so…" Kim said hesitantly. "What just happened?"

"You guys were captured by Brachnomaid…uhm…do you… remember any of it?" Rocky asked uncertainly.

"No." Kim said a little too quickly, stealing a slight, nervous glance at Tommy.

"Nothing." Tommy confirmed, also looking a little too uncomfortable for his own good. "Absolutely nothing…it's all blank."

"Yeah…" Kim agreed, nodding although her face looked utterly panicked. "Absolutely blank….nothing at all…not any of it."

"Don't suppose you guys want to fill us in or anything…" Tommy said nervously, laughing uneasily and trying to act nonchalant. "I mean, since we remember absolutely nothing." He stressed, stealing a small, guilty glance at Kim, who had her arms crossed protectively across her chest and was basically staring at her shoes.

"Brachnomaid captured you and morphed you into her…" Billy began helpfully when the others stalled, but Aisha slapped his shoulder.

"That's ok…" She interrupted. "Nothing much, you guys are back now, that's all the counts."

"Yeah…" Rocky and Adam chimed in unison.

"We're not entirely sure what happened either." Rocky said awkwardly.

"Zordon turned off the viewing globe." Adam added, looking at Rocky and Aisha to back him up.

The six Rangers, four morphed and two unmorphed, regarded each other in a short uncomfortable silence; none of them really sure what to say next. As the silence grew, so did the bubbling ooze of the monster…into a sixty-five foot tall blue, hairy, multi-eyed Bridezilla; complete with veil and garter.

"Looks like the job's not quite finished." Tommy observed gratefully. "It's morphin time!"

As he and Kim morphed and joined the rest of the team, the zords appeared and the real battle began in earnest. Unfortunately, the Rangers quickly learned that there is no force in the universe more powerful and more evil than a pissed off bride; especially one super-charged by both Rita and Zedd's combined magic.

She tossed the zords around like cheap kid's meal prizes; sending sparks flying and alarms blaring. They flew in all directions, Kim's Thunderbird spiraling straight down into the center of Angel Grove Lake, causing waves of water to splash over those few civilians brave enough to continue daily activities during a monster attack.

"Time to bring 'em together guys!" Tommy called as his Tigerzord took a direct hit and rolled with a mighty metallic groan down Angel Grove's main avenue.

The zords rebounded, and all came together, but it was a difficult fight at best. The more she was thwarted, the angrier Bridezilla became, until she finally screamed her outrage and struck the mighty zord with her iron handbag, sending it flying backward.

"I've never seen a monster this powerful before!" Rocky called, coughing on the smoke filling the cockpit.

"Kim? Have you ever encountered this one?" Tommy asked.

"No…I mean, all the monsters are slightly different, so it's hard to say. I remember the monsters got a lot more powerful once Rita and Zedd joined forces, but…I don't remember anything this bad except for Ivan."

"Ivan?" Tommy asked, but she didn't have time to respond. Bridezilla was on top of them and pummeling the prone megazord with pounding fists. One after another, the shock waves reverberated through the megazord, cracking jaws and rattling the Rangers within.

"Alright…" Tommy growled. "That's it. Time to teach this spoiled princess some manners."

The Rangers rallied once again and pushed the Bridezilla backward, but destroying her was no easy task. Weakened by the battle, the zords split apart, sending the Rangers flying, but they pulled it together and attacked again, putting Bridezilla on the defensive.

It was a desperate and furious battle, caught on camera by a few brave news crews who sent the images live, via satellite, to all the televisions in Angel Grove and even into the Lunar Palace. The citizens cheered as the Rangers gained an edge, then cried out in outrage as Bridezilla fought back and seemed to turn the tide. They went back and forth longer than any battle the Rangers of that world had ever fought before and finally, in one last push of strength, Tommy switched strategy mid stream and sent the megazord up into the atmosphere, then straight back down to Earth, impaling Bridezilla with the megazord's sword from her veiled head, down to her scuffed satin shoes.

Bridezilla exploded with a force that took most of the abandoned industrial section with her, but she wasn't done yet. Inside her was a hidden device that activated upon her destruction, it exploded with a force of morphanological energy so strong that it rocked the megazord, breaking the zords apart once again and sending the Rangers flying.

Tommy landed with a thud and de-morphed, his head spinning and the wind knocked out of him. At Kim's scream, he forced himself to roll over on his belly and pull himself upright, only to watch in horror as, one by one, the Thunderzords exploded.

* * *

"We did it!" Rita screamed, jumping up and down in the throne room. 

"Victory is mine!" Zedd roared over her shouts. "At last! Zordon's Rangers are defeated!"

As the monsters assembled in the Lunar Palace for the wedding began to shout and dance around, Goldar sat heavily on the side stairway leading to the dungeons. "Oh my aching head…" He moaned, covering his monkey like face with clawed hands.

* * *

"Zordon…" Tommy said in an incredulous whisper as he looked in agony up at their mentor. "What do we do?" 

"Rangers," Zordon replied sorrowfully, "My sympathies at the loss of your zords. No one understands more than I the bond the Rangers share with them, but their sacrifice was not in vain. By absorbing the morphanological energy burst hidden within the Bridezilla monster, the zords were able to shield you and deliver you safely back to the surface."

"But…how do we fight Rita and Zedd without zords?" Adam asked.

"A Ranger doesn't need a zord to fight evil." Kim whispered, barely audible, obviously as numb as the others by the shock of their loss.

"Yeah, but we need powers." Rocky argued. "We can't face Tengas and monsters as just normal humans."

"Of course we can." Kim snapped angrily, whirling on him. "What makes a Ranger isn't the powers, it's in the heart. The Great Power will always aide those who fight with all their heart and soul on the side of good." She said passionately, eyes blazing. She was covered in soot and her clothing torn, but Tommy thought she had never looked more beautiful to him. He agreed with her. They would find a way to defeat Zedd; one way or another.

"You are both correct." Zordon said gently from above, diffusing the argument before it could begin. "You are right Kimberly, a Ranger's heart is all he will ever need to win the battle, but as Rocky noted, we must now shift our focus to the combined powers of Lord Zedd and Rita and how we will win the war."

"Tell us how to re-charge our powers Zordon. We can re-build the zords, but we're gonna need our powers to keep Zedd off of Earth." Tommy said.

"I'm afraid your Powers are gone." Zordon said gently.

"Then we have to get new ones." Kim said decisively.

"You've been through this before." Tommy said, turning towards her; eyes hopeful. "You told me your team lost their powers and went on a quest for new ones. Where? How?"

"After Ivan Ooze destroyed our zords." Kim said sadly, remembering the events on her world.

"Ai yi yi! Ivan Ooze… Ivan returned to your world?"

"An excavation team dug up his egg when they were digging the foundation for a parking garage." Kim said in a detached voice, chewing her thumbnail and thinking hard. Turning to Zordon she said with far more feeling. "My Zordon nearly died in that attack and our Power Chamber was destroyed. It was a last ditch effort by my Alpha to send us to Phaedos in search of Dulcea. It was a one way trip, if we didn't succeed, there was no coming home."

"Can't we go to this Phaedos too?" Tommy asked, coming up beside her and looking earnestly up at Zordon.

Zordon was astounded by the suggestion. He had been about to recommend another power he'd been considering, but perhaps, given the Alternate's association with the Muirantian realm, this solution was the better course of action. "I believe Dulcea could be of great assistance to our cause." He responded.

"Then we can go?" Kim asked hopefully. She had adored Phaedos and was actually rather sad to leave it. While she wasn't keen on reliving the quest she'd find there, having her Ninjetti powers back would be awesome.

"Alpha…recalibrate the transporter." Zordon directed.

"Ai yi yi!' Alpha exclaimed as he bent over the consol. "Phaedos! How exciting!"

* * *

Goldar tossed violently on his small cot, finally kicking off his warn blanket and jumping off the bed to the stone floor below. Impossible. Outrageous. A pitiful arachnid and a few flying chickens had done in one day what he'd failed to do in years… what armies had failed to do. 

True, black widow spiders had the nasty reputation of eating their husbands after mating, a ferociousness that really had to be admired in any decent monster, but it had out done him! A stupid, silly, brainless, dimwitted, female bug had bested him…the great Goldar…

He sat heavily on the narrow strip of his bedclothes and pouted. Perhaps, if he was lucky, and his luck hadn't exactly held lately, those miserable teenagers would find a new set of powers and come back to torture Zedd and his new battleaxe of a wife. For the first time in his life, he found himself actually pulling for the little spandex wonders.

* * *

Kim breathed deeply of the salty air, blowing wildly across the stony beach. The heavy surf pounded against the rocks, sending up huge clouds of wet mist that billowed landward and dusted her cheeks and arms with salty droplets. She loved Phaedos, but the memory of her last visit saddened her too. The recollections floated about her like ghosts and the reality of the last few months of her life weighed heavily on her shoulders. 

"You ok?" Tommy asked gently, coming up beside her. They needed to talk. He remembered every detail of the monster wedding…and the ceremonial bedding that had been humiliatingly witnessed in the time honored custom of the netherworld …and he was certain she did too.

Zordon had held him back to press for details while the others filed out to clean up and prepare for the journey to Phaedos. He had been as evasive as he could until his mentor had informed him that the marriage was a legal one and could only be successfully annulled if it hadn't been consummated. Unfortunately it had…and, even if it wasn't legal on Earth, in the eyes of the Intergalactic Community… and the Rangers… they were now legally married. Unfortunately, that wasn't nearly as easy to undo as it was on his home world; but Zordon had promised to try.

"Fine." She responded, still staring sadly at the sea. "Just remembering my last visit to this shoreline." She added wistfully. She turned and regarded him. He had a strange look on his face which she attributed to the memory of what had happened between them. That particular memory was awkward at best. What had been so incredibly passionate and enthralling a few short hours before was now mortifying in the light of day…but she couldn't think of that now. There was too much still to do. "It's gonna be fine." She said softly, meeting his eyes.

"The power quest?" He asked, and she nodded slowly, giving him a soft, sad smile that melted his heart. He understood what she hadn't spoken. She had meant their untimely nuptials. They stood in silence, staring out at the waves for several long moments before she spoke again.

"The quest…" She said gently, turning her eyes back to him. "We can do this Tommy, we just have to focus on the task at hand...and deal with the rest when we get home." She said firmly.

"The quest…" He murmured, eyes returning back to the stormy water. "Right…the quest."

"I've done this part before, remember?" She answered with a grin, leaning her shoulder into his arm and pushing at him mischievously with her elbow.

He grinned at her and watched as the sea air tussled her hair. On this far away beach, on this alien world, it wasn't hard at all for him to imagine her as a mermaid, a siren, calling to him on the rocky foreign shore.

He loved her, he realized with a shock that reverberated to his very core. For the first time in his life he felt something far beyond simple infatuation. What's more, the warmth in her eyes when they returned his gaze seemed to echo his feelings.

Suddenly, he didn't want Zordon to find a solution to their dilemma. He wanted her, wanted to spend his whole life with her doing just what they were doing now; fighting to make the world a little better. The universe itself seemed to open for him in that moment and for the first time in his young life, as he stared into those wonderful, soft brown eyes, anything and everything seemed possible.


	14. Chapter 14: Here Kitty Kitty

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 14: Here Kitty, Kitty….

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**_

**Author's note:**A huge thank you to KJ for giving my ideas wings to fly through the next few chapters and another huge thank you to Brian for asking me to consider changing the totem spirits; it fit beautifully with the new plot. (The boar, I'm told, is a symbol of strength …not over-eating).

* * *

Kim found Tommy in little alcove in Angel Grove Park. It was a small landscaped section off to one side with a miniature fountain trickling down into a shallow pond. Wild grasses grew like feathered plumes out of the large, imported rocks and enough shrubbery had been skillfully placed to make the little nook appear completely isolated from the rest of the busy park. She stood still, watching him maneuver through several forms and techniques, before he realized she was there and stopped.

"I'm sorry to bother you." She said hesitantly. They'd been back from Phaedos for a week and still hadn't had a chance to actually sit down and talk together about the events that had happened before; Zedd and Rita had kept them busy almost every day.

"I can come back later if you want." She offered, almost hopeful they'd once again miss an opportunity to actually sit down and talk like Zordon wanted them to.

"No." He said quickly, grabbing a towel off a nearby rock and wiping the sweat off his face. "It's ok, I'm done…really." He insisted. The more time that passed before they could sit down and work through the events that had happened in Rita's subdimension, the more awkward things seemed to get between the two. He'd been in absolute knots all week in school about it and completely unsure of how to approach her this morning after she didn't show up for his karate class.

"You're mom told me where to find you." She continued in an apologetic tone as he approached her. She looked away nervously and took in the plants and grasses. "I didn't know this was here. It's really pretty." She added, twisting her fingers together.

"I come here to think sometimes." He said, as nervous as she was about what needed to be discussed.

Zordon hadn't been able to annul the Intergalactic marriage. They'd have to sit it out for at least two standard years before applying for a termination. As the marriage wasn't legal on their home planet and they were both too young by California's laws to enter into such a union, Zordon assured them it was not of any consequence. They had only to live their lives as usual, go to school, go home to their families, and by the time they graduated high school, they'd be free to pursue their lives. Technically, as Rangers bound to the Intergalactic Community, they'd both be breaking Intergalactic law if they dated other people, but Zordon was confident that Earth was too far removed from the closest neighboring world for anyone to bother noticing if that happened.

"Do you want to sit…"

"I'm not pregnant." She blurted out before he could finish, and he froze, the color draining from his face. He hadn't even considered that possibility. "Alpha told me for sure this morning." She continued to stammer. "He was a little worried earlier." She continued anxiously, voice choking a little and hands twisting nervously. "But nothing came of it."

"That's good." He managed weakly and she nodded several more times in a row than she really needed too. He returned her nodding with a stare that lasted a few seconds longer than it should have, but he was too stunned to really know what to do next. He felt weak, like all the strength had drained from his body and even the slightest of breeze would simply topple him. Then it hit him that she had thought all week that she might be pregnant, with his child, possibly the only blood family connection he could claim in the entire world, yet had still morphed and gone out to fight with the team. Something in that thought made him angry enough for the blood to begin flowing through his heart and brain again. "Sit down." He said gently. "Let's talk."

She did as she was told and the two sat in a thick silence for more than a minute, both considering how to begin and what they really wanted to say. As Kim watched the little trickle of water bubble over the rocks, she thought of her world and her friends, of the worlds Thomas had shown her, the events in Rita's subdimension, and then her thoughts drifted to the recent quest on Phaedos.

The quest hadn't gone as she'd expected and the differences seriously confused her. They had found Dulcea, or rather she had found them, they had gone to the temple ruins, but from there things had deviated from her last visit. The crane had chosen her again almost instantly, the falcon and the bear to Tommy and Aisha respectively, and Adam had once again, to his dismay, been chosen by the frog, but Billy was chosen by the owl, not the wolf, and Rocky chosen, not by the ape, but by the boar.

There had been a good deal of teasing about what was worse, being a frog or being a pig, considering Rocky's eating habits, but the switch had shaken Kim to the core. It wasn't right, it wasn't what had happened; history was being changed again.

Concerned for her, Dulcea had taken her aside where she had broken her promise to Zordon and confided her status as an alternate. Dulcea had smiled gently and very patiently tried to alleviate her fears, repeating Zordon's words that all Alternate Universes travel along slightly to even dramatically different lines, but her concerns remained. When Dulcea had pressed to know what was really going on, and warned her that she shouldn't start a quest for power without first cleansing her soul of its worries, she had begun to sob and confided everything about her Tommy and Kat, Kemora's possession, the death of her world, traveling with Thomas to world after world where the Kim was dead by Kemora's hands and the Tommy was with Kat, how she really liked this new Tommy, her fears of changing history, and about being captured and married off in Rita's subdimension. Dulcea had remained silent for several moments, regarding her seriously, then placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, urging her to cry herself out and purge her core being.

Crying was too small a word for what had come up from Kim's soul. She had howled and screamed, the sobs shaking her with such a ferocity that she had literally fallen over. Dulcea had kept the rest of the team away from her when they rushed to her aide, shooing them away and continuing to encourage the catharses. She had no idea how long the episode had lasted, but it had left her drained and weary to the bone. Starting out on a power quest in that kind of condition had dismayed her, but Dulcea had insisted it was necessary or she would have never succeeded; would have actually been a liability to the others who's souls were relatively clear of trauma. Dulcea had then lectured her very firmly, insisting that she hear and accept both her words and Zordon's. She was to forget her alternate world and those friends, remembering them only as if they had existed in a dream. She now found herself in a different reality and she was to follow the course that reality took her. She was to follow her heart, walk the path the Great Power led her, and accept the destination it took her to without looking back.

Kim had nodded, clutching at the hope of those words. She wanted desperately to believe, still wanted to believe, but how did you just forget about a history that you'd already lived? A future you'd already seen on other worlds. She didn't know what to do or what to say. She'd lain awake at night fretting that she might be pregnant and what she'd do, how she'd explain it. She fretted over changing history, of destroying her host world just as she had destroyed her own. Nightmares plagued her when she'd finally succumb to her body's need for rest, and, more often than not, she'd wake with circles under her eyes and nod off over her schoolwork a few hours later.

Tommy watched Kim's eyes as she focused on the little brook. She was thinking hard and he wished he knew about what. The bright sun was hot for January, but he doubted that was what was making him sweat so hard. He crumpled the towel in his hands, using the excuse of drying them to expel some of the nervous energy coursing through him. He was never very good at talking to girls. Put him in a room full of guys or on the mat and he was totally in his element, but add a female into the mix and his stomach would turn to mush; add in a female he was attracted to and his tongue turned to cotton and his mind melted.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked, breaking the silence. She shook her head no, but didn't answer. "Are you hurting now that it's…over?" He asked again.

"What do you mean?" She replied, turning to him.

He shifted slightly on the rock and wiped his face with the towel, remembering her catharsis on Phaedos. It terrified him that the sobbing was over what had happened under Rita's spell in the underworld.

"I mean…uhm…well, are you hurt…hurting? You know, now that the dust has sort of settled, kind of…" He wiped his face again then put the towel down and turned to her. "Do you think bad of me?" He asked, turning to face her.

"No, of course not." She answered. "Why would you think that? Do you think badly of me?"

"No." He answered simply. "I uhm…man this is hard." He said, rubbing his palms on his white sweat pants. "Kimberly, I…since you came…I mean, getting to know you and all…I was just thinking, we get along so well…" He stammered, stopping short as a metal object crashed down over the rocks and landed with a splash in the pond. "Oh man." He sighed, jumping up and bending over the shallow water.

"What is it?' She asked, coming up beside him, then kneeling on the gravel next to the pond.

"Hold on." He said in frustrated tone. Taking his shoes and socks off , he waded a few feet into the shallow center and retrieved a metal sword. "My sword." He muttered, grabbing the towel roughly and drying the blade. "They found it in the rubble of my old apartment building. It was in my room when the building fell…about the only thing they've recovered of mine." He grumbled, still trying to dry the metal with the damp cloth.

"It's nice." She commented, looking at the scuffed blade and the dinged up green and gold handle; imagining what it had looked like new.

"I got it for my Birthday right after we moved here." He said, handing it to her. He'd done the best he could to get the water off, the rest would simply have to dry on its own. Besides, it was pretty much worthless now, all dinged up by the concrete and other debris of the building. "It was kind of a consolation prize from my mom. An 'I'm sorry I got married again and moved you away from your friends and ruined your life' sort of thing."

"Pretty nice consolation prize." She grinned, eyes twinkling as she took it from him. It had been an expensive one, she noted.

"It was my favorite." He admitted. "But it's toast now."

"You could get it fixed." She offered, but he shook his head.

"Naw, I…it's a good memento of what happened; how lucky we all were nobody got seriously hurt." He said, watching her handle it. "You ever learn how to use one?" He asked as she turned it around to examine it.

"Jase…my Jason, taught me a little of the basics. He always said girls were good at sword drills…I think it was more he liked watching girls do the sword drills. But no, not really." She answered, handing it back to him. "My Tommy tried to teach me a little more after Jase left for Switzerland, but he'd get so frustrated with me…and then Kat…never mind." She said, standing up. She dusted herself off and returned to the rock she'd been sitting on. He followed her, carefully placing the scuffed up sword off to one side as if it were still precious.

"Were you two close?" He asked cautiously.

"Me and Jase? Sort of, he was really like a brother more than anything. His parents took me in for a little while after my Grandfather died and my relatives were all fighting over who didn't have to take me." She answered quietly, old hurts and frustrations oozing slightly through her words.

"No..I meant..you and your Tommy." He pressed.

"Oh. Well, for a while we were." She said hesitantly, not really looking at him, then seemed to decide something. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It's like this." She said in a great rush of air. "Tommy transferred into Angel Grove High and you know that history, with Rita and all." She started, and he nodded at her. "That was such a weird time. Everything seemed to happen all at once. My dad and my Uncle Steven were fighting over who controlled my portion of my grandfather's estate. Uncle Steven really wanted to keep me but Dad took him to court to block him from taking custody because he said all he was after was my inheritance. Then Social Services wanted to put me in a foster home, Jason's parents had to give me up." She took a deep breath and gave him an apologetic look for rambling. "I relative hopped for a while, then Jason and the others left. Aisha's parents were certified foster parents so Zordon somehow arranged for me to go there…and it was really great there, the Campbell's were really good to me…it's just…life was so uncertain and things so crazy." She stopped and gave him a cautious look.

"Tommy and I…. well, he was so nice to me through all that. He was really a rock for me, you know?" She asked and he nodded. "He never…well, he never said anything or did anything other than be a really good friend and teammate…but I uhm, well…I just needed someone to cling to. I started…" She paused and closed her eyes, then continued. "I kind of started to think of him, sort of, as my hero." She admitted, looking at him shyly, as if admitting something she'd never dared tell anyone. "I started to…well, uhm, make more of things between us than there really were." She finished, then let a let a small silence fall between them.

"And I totally blew that image you had of him by what happened in Rita's evil dimension, didn't I?" He muttered.

"Oh no." She assured him, turning around and placing a hand on his arm, then removing it quickly when she realized what she'd done. "No." She said firmly. "You couldn't control that anymore than I could. My Tommy and I weren't anything, honestly. I was just saying that I sort of ended up with a crush on him….and that caused problems between us…but that was my fault." She amended quickly. "He never felt…I mean, he was totally in love with someone else." She finished, shifting uncomfortably on the rock.

"Really?" He asked, stunned. How could his alternate not have felt what he did? How could he choose someone else over her? She was the most beautiful, talented, loving, incredible creature he'd ever encountered...and his alternate hadn't wanted her? "Who?" He asked before he could stop himself.

"It doesn't matter." She answered. "I'm not supposed to talk about the past, remember?" She said with a lame attempt at a smile.

"Did he hurt you?" He asked. "He hurt your feelings, didn't he?" He pressed. He'd never met his alternate, but he suddenly wanted to strangle him; even if he was already long dead.

"No." She insisted quickly. "Honestly, it was nothing. It was all in my head because I just needed…I just wanted…I just wanted something stable in my life, you know? I wanted to be in love and feel all that girl stuff, but it wasn't real and it caused all kinds of problems later with his girlfriend."

"I thought you guys were only fourteen." He muttered, eyes hardening. He hated the idea of her liking someone else, even if he understood how irrational that was. He was jealous, he realized. She'd had a crush on someone else, even if it was an alternate him.

"Turing fifteen." She responded as if that justified anything.

He rolled his eyes and scooted closer. Not that sixteen was that far removed from fifteen, but sixteen seemed so much more grown up to him than fourteen. The fourteen year old crowd at school were idiots; especially the girls. They'd giggle and gaggle down the halls, stare at him in silence as he passed them, then explode into giggles again. Sixteen year old girls were far more mature.

"I'd never…" He said, then stopped as he realized he was about to say he'd never chose someone else over her; never hurt her like that.

"Oh I know." She said, sliding off the rock and edging away from him. "What happened, happened." She said, pacing a little. "It doesn't mean you're stuck with me or anything. I won't hold you to it."

"What do you mean?" He asked, sliding off his rock and walking up to her.

"Just because Zordon can't annul things…it doesn't mean you have to pretend to like me...or think you have to date me for real or anything." She answered.

"But I do like you." He blurted out before he could stop himself.

"As a friend, yes." She answered, oblivious to the real meaning of his words. "But you aren't stuck with me or anything, I'd never hold you to it just because…just because of…what…happened." She said with a wince, then turned her back on him so he couldn't see her blush.

"Are you sorry it happened?" He asked, coming up behind her and turning her around, hand remaining on her shoulder.

"No, we couldn't help it." She answered."We were under a spell. I'm just saying I won't hold you to it, it's not like we had a say in it or anything. It'd be totally wrong for me to assume that just because we…you know…I'm not going to just assume that because….it…happened, that you want to be more than friends or anything."

"Do you want to forget about it?" He asked. Part of him was honestly panicked that she might not like him; that she might have liked her Tommy more than him. He suddenly had to know how she felt, but he just couldn't seem to get the right words out.

"Why not?" She countered. "It's not a legal thing here on Earth. No, you are absolutely free to see whoever you want, honestly. I think we should both just take a deep breath, throw it in with all the other weird Ranger experiences we've both had, and start over as friends."

"What if I don't want to forget about it?" He asked with a little frown on his face. Part of the frown was his own astonishment that he'd actually gotten the words out and part of it was the sheer terror that she'd burst out laughing at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked, the muscles in her legs suddenly going numb beneath her.

"What if…" He said slowly, taking another step closer and placing his other hand on her opposite shoulder so that both rested on either side, slightly cupping her upper arms. "…I said I wanted to work things out between us. Try it out, see if it could work." He finished, eyes regarding her cautiously and waiting for the peel of laughter to erupt.

"You want…to keep the contract? I mean…in real life…you…really?" She stammered, a frown equal to his forming on her forehead. There were little yellow lights floating all around her line of vision and she suddenly realized that she might actually faint. She hadn't heard him right, couldn't have heard him right.

"Ever since I met you…" He rushed out. "I just think…I think…I think you're awesome." He stammered, wincing at his words but unable to think of any others. "I really like you Kim. I mean, I really like you." He added, head spinning. "And, I was wondering if, maybe, you were kinda thinking the same things about me?….or not." He finished, giving her what he hoped was an easy out.

Kim was stunned. He wanted her? But he hadn't really met Kat yet…but did that matter? Dulcea and Zordon's words and advice spun in her head. Was it really so bad to re-write things in her favor? Wasn't that what she'd been given permission to do? Follow her heart? But what if she gave her heart over and he just turned around and left her anyway? She couldn't speak, she knew she should really say something, anything, but she couldn't make the words form in her mouth.

He shifted slightly, shoulders slumping a little as if he thought he'd been wrong to even suggest it, as if he thought she didn't like him. She tried to say something, to say she really did like him and yes, she'd absolutely like to try things, but the words simply wouldn't come.

As his hands slipped from her shoulders and he began to move away, she panicked. Without thinking, she threw herself at him with enough force to cause him to move back several paces for balance, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him quickly on the mouth. The kiss itself was completely botched, lasting less than a second, and surprised both of them. Eyes wide, she released him just as suddenly, backing away in amazed horror at her audacity, but she still couldn't speak. She simply stood there gaping at him, breathing heavy, nervous breaths. He regarded her for a few seconds, seemingly as astonished as she was by her actions, still waiting for her to say something, but completely thrilled by what had just happened.

As one long second passed into two, then into five, it became apparent to both of them she wasn't going to say anything. He took a step forward then, arms reaching out and encircling her waist. He leaned in slightly, then stopped, giving her one last silent chance to back out. Her head had tilted back for him, then came down again when he paused. She regarded him curiously, cautiously, then seemed to realize what he was waiting for. Slowly, she raised her lips to his and he met her half way, in a longer, softer, kiss that left them both wonderfully breathless.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." He moaned as they parted for air. He leaned in and kissed her eagerly a third time, hardly daring to believe she was really there in his arms. Her kisses were sweet and tentative and he had to work at coaxing her into anything even slightly more than completely chaste, but it was worth it, his heart was soaring to places he'd never experienced before.

"Do you uhm…" He stammered as they parted again, lips pressing together to taste the traces her lips had left there. "Do you uhm, think…maybe…you'd like to go to the Valentine's Day dance with me?"

She smiled at him shyly, still as enthralled with the new feelings coursing through her as he was. "I would love to spend my Birthday with you." She answered coyly, eyes batting in an unconscious gesture that had far more of a lightening effect on him than she'd ever realize.

"Birthday?" He asked in return.

"My Birthday is on Valentine's Day." She informed him. "I know the dance is two days before that, but same dif." She answered. "I guess, since I get to skip a year in this timeline, it's my sweet sixteen." She grinned.

He grinned back at her. How, since he'd worked with her alternate for nearly a year, had he not known her Birthday was on Valentine's Day? He'd have to do something really special, but he didn't have a clue as to what. He had a few weeks yet, but given his natural predisposition to lateness, he didn't dare put off figuring out what. There was something…something he'd seen an advertisement for and thought she'd like, but at the time, he'd dismissed it as totally inappropriate. Maybe now he'd go back and take a second look.

"What are you thinking?" She asked, sliding against him unconsciously and distracting him from his thoughts.

"I'm thinking how beautiful you are." He answered.

* * *

"I thought we were gonna go eat." Rocky complained as they bypassed the mall's food court in favor of a different destination.

"We are." Tommy reassured him. "I just have one stop first." He said over his shoulder as he led them to his destination.

He and Kim had spent almost all of the morning together in the park, until she had realized she was late for an appointment and he had realized he'd totally missed sparring practice with the guys. He'd run home and changed his clothes, only to walk in as they were hitting the showers. Contrite over being late, yet again, he'd offered to buy them lunch and they'd readily accepted.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Kimberly would it?" Rocky asked as he and Adam trailed after him. Tommy turned around and stopped, grinning like an idiot.

"She likes me." He said, unable to stop smiling.

"Yeah, so we've heard." Rocky complained.

"Over and over since you showed up." Adam chimed in.

"She does." Tommy insisted, walking backwards, "She really likes me."

Adam and Rocky looked at each other as if to say that had been obvious for several weeks, but said nothing. They allowed him to drag them down the rows of national franchises that you'd find in just about any large shopping arena, only to frown again when he stopped outside a well known jewelry store.

"I saw an add." Tommy explained, pulling the advertisement from his jeans pocket. "Yesterday and today only, otherwise I wouldn't drag you two in with me." He continued, not looking at either of them. In truth, he originally wanted the support of his friends coming with him, but now that they were here, he actually thought he'd rather be alone.

"Please don't tell me he's gonna buy her a ring." Adam said uncomfortably.

"Well, they're technically married right?" Rocky asked in return,

The two mulled in the entry to the expensive store as Tommy flagged a sales clerk and showed her the crumpled paper. She smiled at him and took him to a counter on the opposite side. The two boys looked at each other uncertainly, then shuffled forward, trying very hard not to be noticed by anyone, as if they were in the woman's lingerie department about to get caught gawking at underwear instead of a simple jewelry boutique. But this particular one was expensive; it was a place for parents, not teens. The counter Tommy was standing at was located at the second entrance to the store, which opened up to a different section of the mall. The two gravitated to the entrance, half in and half out and waited there uncomfortably.

"What do you guys think?" Tommy asked, holding up a small gold chain. Attached to one end was a small heart, outlined in small pink stones. "You think she'll like it?"

"How much is it?" Adam asked uncertainly. He didn't like the look the security guard was giving them. It was as if he was saying teenage boys in baggy pants and do-rags shouldn't be anywhere near the place and should move on.

"That's not the point." Tommy fired back, looking at the small heart. "It's her sixteenth Birthday, I wanna give her something nice. This is three hundred dollar necklace on sale for ninety-nine."

"It will make a very nice gift." The sales lady offered sweetly.

"But you could go fifty feet to one of the anchor stores and get one just like it for about ten bucks." Rocky argued.

"I don't want to get her a ten dollar one, I wanna get her something special. Something that will last." Tommy argued.

"The stones are very nice quality." The sales lady chimed in, "It' will definitely last her."

"But how are you gonna pay for it?" Adam asked quietly.

"My teaching money." Tommy said simply.

"You're gonna sacrifice a hundred bucks of your car fund….for that?" Rocky asked incredulously. A crush was one thing, it was actually kind of amusing, but he and Adam were both banking on Tommy getting that Jeep of his by school's end; otherwise they'd all be stuck walking again all summer.

"No, it's cool guys. The Jeep got all dinged up when the building fell. It still runs great, but now the guy is gonna sell it to me for half what he was previously asking."

"All because of a few dents?" Adam asked.

"That and his other car was completely totaled and he needs the money. My Uncle Josh says he's gonna help me fix it up once his last circuit's done. He's even got leftover paint from the last car he painted…although it's still red paint, but whatever. My mom and I are gonna go pick it up tomorrow and drive it to his garage. Then all I have to do is get my license in April and I'm set."

"Still…you're gonna spend a hundred dollars…on a girl?" Adam asked.

"Not just any girl." Tommy muttered, handing the necklace to the sales lady as well as a hundred plus dollars he'd taken out of the bank on the way to meet the guys. If he'd known they were going to give him grief, he'd have left them at Ernie's. Kim was special. They'd…well, they'd been under a spell at the time…but they'd still…

"Hey, there she is." Adam said, one hand smacking Rocky's shoulders to get his attention.

"Crap." Tommy muttered. "Don't let her see us in here."

"Too late." Rocky drolled. "Hey, who's she with?" He asked studying the two unfamiliar faces. They were like salt and pepper, he mused, one blond and blue-eyed and the other dark haired and dark eyed.

"Dunno." Adam answered as he studied the other two girls with her. "I think I've seen them around, but I dunno their names."

"Just don't let Kim see me in here." Tommy added, backing away to the back counter where the sales clerk was getting his change.

The boys exchanged tolerant glances behind his back, then moved over to where Kim was waving to them. The three girls each had at least six bags a piece and looked as if they'd been shopping a while.

"Hey!" Kim greeted them when they walked over. "Rocky, Adam, these are my friends, Kat and Carri." She said, using a shopping bag laden arm to point to each. The boys nodded and the girls did the same in the time honored awkward introductory greeting of teenagers everywhere; then simply stared at each other.

"So…" Rocky began awkwardly, "You guys go to Angel Grove?"

"You and I have English class together." Carri drolled, but her dark brown eyes were twinkling.

"Really?" Rocky squeaked. "Wow…I mean, it's a big class."

"And science lab." She added, her lip twitching at his discomfort.

"Oh…that too?" He stammered uncomfortably. It wasn't like him at all not to know the girls in his classes, he thought uncomfortably. Was she new at school or something?

"And lunch period." She added. Actually, she wasn't so sure about lunch, but it sounded good and he was kind of cute when he squirmed. She knew exactly who he was. He played right field on the baseball team and she'd never missed a single game at either Stone Canyon or Angel Grove. Baseball was a passion for her, one of the few things she had in common with her dad and brother.

"You noticed all that when he didn't?" Adam asked, trying to save his friend from stammering. It wasn't like his friend not to notice a cute girl, but, then again, they'd been too busy Rangering the past few months to notice much of anything else; life had been a literal whirlwind lately.

"I notice everything." Carri quipped saucily, ignoring her cousin's look to be nice. She was in a good mood. Nothing perked her up like a good shopping trip and Kimberly Hart was turning out to be a lot nicer than she'd previously given her credit for. She'd been skeptical when her cousin had insisted she tag along on the little foray to Angel Grove Mall, but now she was glad she'd come. "And I also transferred over from Stone Canyon with you guys."

"Oh…" Adam said uncertainly. So why didn't he and Rocky know this girl? He asked himself silently. He made a mental note to ask Aisha later. She knew everybody.

"But I didn't." Kat said, interjecting herself into the conversation. She honestly didn't know what was with her cousin lately. She seemed to pour acid over everyone and enjoy making people uncomfortable. She was genuinely surprised she was being so nice to Kimberly and the two seemed to actually hit it off. Kimberly had invited her, not Carri, to go shopping, yet all afternoon the two had talked way more to each other than to her…and Carri hadn't even wanted to come. "I just moved in with my cousin a few months ago." She added.

"Where are you from?" Rocky asked, genuinely relieved to change the subject. How had he not known the brown haired girl was in all those classes with him? True, English was right before lunch, when he was usually starving and staring mournfully at the clock and science lab was right after lunch, which meant that he was usually overly full and ready to explode…but he should have noticed her; Angel Grove wasn't that big.

"I'm from Australia." Kat answered sweetly and Carri rolled her eyes. For six months her cousin had given the same exact answer in the same exact sweet, coyish tone. Truth was, they were both from Australia, from the same boring, dusty, sheep ridden, township in Australia; Carri's dad had just moved them to California when she was a baby and his production company had taken off. Carri still spent almost every summer vacation there and still had citizenship there, but did anyone ever ask her about it? Nope, for the last six months Kat had been the exotic gem at school and Carri just another transfer from Stone Canyon; not that she was bitter or anything.

"Don't you just love her accent?" Kim piped up, and Carri fought the urge to roll her eyes again.

She gave her cousin a tolerant look. Kat was privately very tired of people ooing and ahing over her accent; it made her feel out of place now that she was settling into life in the States. She grinned to herself inwardly as her cousin met her eyes. Not that Carri would ever admit it, but the prickly feeling the question generated in her cousin made the pill of Kat's popularity a little less bitter to swallow.

"You two are cousins?" Rocky asked, looking from one to the other. Except for the shape of the nose and a little similarity around the mouth, the two looked nothing alike, but Kat nodded firmly that they were, indeed related.

Leaning over a little closer to Rocky, Carri added, "And up until about two weeks ago I was about as blond as she is."

"Hillard!" Rocky nearly shouted in recognition, turning around to face her in a move that was more jump than turn. "You're Carri Hillard, the producer's daughter, right?"

Carri gave him a grin that was nearly wicked in its amusement and nodded slowly. It had been her mother's idea to go blond; she'd thought it would be good for her as a cheerleader. Since Carri was now permanently done with cheering, she'd ditched the bleach and had it tinted back to a color closer to her roots; dark brown. The effect was dramatic and she looked, to her mother's dismay, like a completely different person…but that's what she was going for. The little mealy mouthed cheerleader who'd do everything she was told was out. What she'd eventually be, she didn't know, but one thing was certain, she'd be the one who'd decide…not her mother, not her father…not even her brother Josh; just her.

"You were a cheerleader, right?" Adam asked, noticing Kat wince and hoping he hadn't said something wrong. He knew for sure she wasn't on the team their Kimberly had been on, but he remembered her now from Stone Canyon. She was the rich producer's kid that was supposedly going to public school in order to be grounded in reality or something. He remembered her now. The hair was totally different and now seemed odd on the familiar face; but it suited her. With blond hair, she'd looked just like the other cheerleaders.

"Was." Carri said firmly, but not meanly.

"Hey are you guys hungry?" Kim asked, changing the subject. "We were just talking about jumping on the shuttle to Ernie's."

"Starving." Rocky moaned pathetically.

"Spoken like a true pig." Adam chided under his breath.

"Watch it frogman." Was the comeback. Then to the girls, he added, "Tommy dragged us over here to eat but…"

"Tommy's here?" Kim piped up, the joyous look on her face more than obvious to the other four present.

Carri turned a measuring look on her cousin, which quickly turned sympathetic. So Oliver had made his move had he? One look at Kimberly's face told her she wasn't oblivious to his attentions anymore. Poor Kat, she thought, realizing for the first time that her cousin had probably agreed to the shopping foray with Kimberly in a veiled effort to get to know the girl's friends. And look at the result, she thought grimly, in one week's time Kat's crush had made his move on another girl and her cousin was discovering she actually liked hanging out with her arch nemesis.

But Carri liked the way Kimberly was handling her situation, respected her for simply picking herself up and starting over; building a new life based on what she wanted to do now versus what she'd been doing. Carri could totally identify with that. Wasn't that what she was doing herself? Starting over? Recreating a new her?

"Hi guys." Tommy chimed in, interrupting the conversation as he jogged over to them. He caught Kim's glace and the two grinned at each other with such google eyes that the others shifted uncomfortably. "We were, uhm, just on our way to the food court." He suggested with a nod.

"From inside the jewelry store?" Carri noted.

"You do notice everything, don't you." Rocky interjected and she raised a dark eyebrow at him as if to say 'of course I do.'

"I uh, cut through." Tommy replied lamely, noting this was she same girl he'd met at Ernie's last week. "You guys want to go with us to the food court?" He suggested a little more obviously.

"Sure." Kim said eagerly, moving up next to him with bright eyes, the two looking to all around them as if they'd simply start making out right there in the middle of the crowed mall. Carri gave Rocky a questioning glance and, after recovering from the change in his teammates himself, he rolled his eyes sheepishly.

"I…suddenly have a really brutal headache." Kat said.

"I'm sorry." Kim said, turning to her in genuine concern. "We can go if you want, I'll call my mom."

"No, that's ok, really." Kat said sweetly. "You should stay. Besides, Carri's got her car parked at Ernie's. It's just a short shuttle ride."

Carri gave her cousin a cold look, she didn't want to go, she wanted to stay and get to know Kimberly and her friends a little better; as much as that surprised her to admit it. But she really couldn't blame her cousin. Her whole reason for shopping today was now gushing over another girl.

"Alright, if you're sure." Kim said, "I hope you feel better."

"I'm sure I will." Kat replied.

The two girls said their goodbyes, turning and walking to the far entrance of the mall where the shuttle bus would take them back to the Youth Center. As the glass doors swung closed behind them, Kat issued a loud, frustrated sound that was very uncharacteristic of her.

"This whole afternoon was staged, wasn't it?" Carri grumbled as she flopped on the bench to wait, bags scattering around her feet.

"What do you mean?" Kat asked, almost testily, pausing a second to look at her cousin before sitting down next to her.

"You agreed to meet Kimberly today in hopes that Tommy would show up and you could get to know him better." She answered plainly.

"Don't be ridiculous." Kat started, but at Carri's snort, she rolled her eyes. "Alright, maybe. She said they were just friends!" She argued in an accusatory tone. "Obviously that wasn't true."

"Oh come on Kat, anyone could tell last week at the Youth Center that he had a thing for her and she was completely oblivious. He obviously made his move and she was very happy about it."

"Whatever." He cousin answered wearily. "Let's just go home, ok?"

Carri had a reply on her tongue that she was itching to use, but she held back. Her cousin was disappointed and she could appreciate that. She'd have to find an excuse to talk to Kimberly again later, without her cousin. She knew she was taking a karate class with Tommy, maybe she'd sign up. She was a former cheerleader and tumbler, how hard could martial arts be?

* * *

From the bushes near the bus stop, Rita ran a long nailed hand over her chin in contemplation. So Tommy and the little pink had stayed together. Well, stranger things had happened and the two seemed to have an awful lot of fun with each other in her subdimension.

She looked at the pouting blond girl speculatively. There was nothing she enjoyed more than good jealous rivalry. Add a little spice to an already bitter seed and you could end up with a truly powerful concoction; one the Rangers, especially her former green, would have a difficult time contending with. Yes, she thought to herself with a wicked smile, the girl named Kat was perfect… and didn't every self respecting witch need a little pussy cat to do her bidding?

She began to step forward, staff raised, but held back as the shuttle bus arrived and the two girls stood up to board. She knew that bus, knew where it would take them. As it closed its door and began to pull away, she cackled to herself.

"Here kitty, kitty…" She called. Laughing again, she disappeared.

* * *


	15. Chapter 15: Nice Kitty

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 15: Nice Kitty….

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. All things Carri belong to KJ, with many thanks._

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**__._

* * *

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY KJ!**

* * *

Apsonic, the battery pack monster, was a lot tougher than he looked. He dripped acid which burned right through their uniforms and boots and had a nasty tendency to zap you when you weren't looking. The Rangers had already morphed from Ninjetti mode, but between the monster and the huge flock of Tengas, they were all fairly worn out when Goldar decided to join in on the fun.

"Had enough Rangers?" Goldar bellowed from the sidelines as Tommy took a rather nasty spill into the dirt and rolled to break some of the energy of the fall.

"The poor little white Ranger got his uniform dirty!" The Tengas crowed. "Dirty boy! Dirty boy!" They chanted over and over until Tommy finally lost his temper and plowed into them with a loud kiap, sending black feathers flying into the air. He was already in a bad mood and seriously didn't need the goading. He and Kim had finally managed to sneak off alone from the group for a second but, before he could even get one little kiss out of her, their communicators had gone off.

"I dunno about you." Kim panted, rolling over and trying to catch her breath on the sidelines after she and Aisha had been tossed aside like ragdolls, "But I've had just about enough of this."

"I never thought I'd say it," Her friend replied with feeling, also out of breath and holding her ringing head, "But I miss the putties."

"Ditto." Kim agreed, nodding several times for emphasis as she stood back up. "Not exactly a calm and quiet Sunday afternoon is it?" She asked. Aisha shook her head, accepting the offered hand to hoist her up, and then the two once again dove back into the mêlée.

The dust they were kicking up billowed everywhere, fanned by the Tengas wings, which made things difficult to see. They coughed and choked on it and before long, lost formation and were broken up into separate units. Goldar gloried in the fact that were seriously getting trounced; he hadn't even had to engage Tommy much. Perhaps this time he would see the victory that had so long been denied him.

"Hey Goldie…" Rito called from the sidelines, lumbering towards him and dragging two female hostages behind. "What was I supposed to do with these two again?"

"You idiot!" Goldar growled, slapping his clawed hand over his face in frustration. "You were supposed to bring only the one girl."

"I tried." Rito responded helplessly, "But the other one wouldn't leave her. Seriously, I can't get rid of her." He stressed. As if to prove it, he let go of both; the blond simply stood impatiently off to one side and the brunette spun around and kicked him in the shin. "Told ya." He complained, but instead of answering, Goldar raised both hands to his head, simply shaking it in disgust.

From the other side of the skirmish Kim stopped cold in her tracks as she recognized the familiar figures of the girls Rito had captured. Back flipping away from a rather nasty tangle of Tengas, she maneuvered herself over to where the boys were fighting.

"Tommy!" She screamed, trying to get his attention over the cawing. Instantly his head snapped up. "Rito's got Kat and Carri!" She yelled, pointing urgently through the dust toward the pair.

"Aw man! That's not good." He said, quickly trying to change gears while the Tengas fluttered about him. He hated to admit it, but between Apsonic and the Tengas, he was a little too bogged down to maneuver into a position to help. Billy had just gotten into position and at any moment was going to spray the darn thing with some sort of baking soda concoction and hopefully melt it. He didn't dare disengage now.

"I'm on it." Rocky called, suddenly finding himself free of the obnoxious black birds and breaking into a run in Kim's direction. He slapped her on the back as she turned and they ran together to assist the captured girls.

As they reached them though, they pulled up short. Goldar had moved off to deal with Tommy and a now fizzing and melting battery monster and Rito was bent over in an almost standing sort of fetal position, being kicked and pounded by a very angry Carri.

"OW!" He shrieked. "Cut it out will ya?" He whined, trying to stand up, but howled again as Carri stomped on his foot.

"Kat run!" She yelled, but to her frustration, her cousin simply rolled her eyes and glared at her like she was totally ruining her afternoon. "Run will you?" Carri shrieked again, this time kicking the hapless Rito in the knee hard enough to cause him to hop around on one foot, holding the injured limb.

"No, no, no." Rito finally said in frustration, standing up a little straighter but still not putting any weight on the injured joint. "Blondie over there is supposed to stay with me." He argued, pointing a boney finger accusingly back at Kat. "My sister said so."

"Don't make me hurt you again." Carri snarled, squaring her feet and drawing her fist back.

"Ok, ok…jeesh!" Rito complained, raising both hands to fend her off. "I'm outta here." He said in a aggrieved tone, then dissolved into a pile of bones which quickly disappeared.

"That was really good." Rocky commented admiringly from behind his red helmet. True, Rito was a an incompetent idiot, but he was also a good fighter. He wasn't especially difficult to deal with if you knew how, but he was more than a little intimidating and it took spunk for the girl to get past his frightening looks. Actually finding the courage to turn around and pummel him was pretty impressive.

"Huh?" Carri asked, head jerking up in surprise that there were actually two living and breathing Power Rangers standing in front of her. "Oh, uhm…thanks." She said hesitantly, not really sure what one said to a Power Ranger.

"Are you two alright?" Kim asked, still fully morphed and laying a gentle, gloved hand on Kat's arm. Kat yanked it away and glared at her.

"Just fine, thank you." She muttered nastily. "No thanks to my cousin." She added. Giving Carri a murderous look, she turned and stomped away.

"What!?" Carri screeched. "I risk life and limb to save you and you just…" She let off a frustrated growl that was every bit as lethal as Kat's black look had been. "I don't get it!" She exclaimed, turning to the Rangers. "First she won't talk to me all week. Then she takes off in my car, without even asking me, and when I finally catch up with her she's in the process of being kidnapped by that…that…thing." She ranted, turning her temper toward the red Ranger as if he were responsible for her troubles. "Then I get the chance to get us away and she won't leave it! She just stands there…now she's mad at me for trying to save us?"

"Sometimes when people are really scared, it comes across as being angry." Rocky offered lamely, but, to his dismay, she simply stared at him like he was an idiot.

"Oh what do you know!" She spat, glaring at him one more time before turning and stomping after her cousin. "Hey wombat!" She yelled after Kat's retreating figure. "Where the hell is my car!"

"You're welcome." Rocky called awkwardly behind her. He and Kim exchanged confused looks behind their helmets and then shrugged in unison.

"Hey guys!" Tommy called from across the clearing. "A little help here?"

Turning, he and Kim realized at the same time that the monster had now grown into its sixty foot version. Nodding to each other, they turned and ran to finish the fight.

* * *

"Well well, my little spider biscuit." Zedd crooned, placing an armored arm tightly around Rita's robed waist. "What is it you're up to; sending that brother of yours in at the last second… with a hostage no less."

Rita winced, covertly shifting her eyes to try and decipher if he was angry at her, mocking her, or just simply curious. It was no secret that Goldar had been working to thwart her; clandestinely trying discover the antidote to the potion he assumed Rita had infused her husband with. He wasn't far off, which unnerved her greatly. Whether he had found one or not, she didn't know, but even the best love potions began to wear off after a while; she was on borrowed time at best.

"Just a little amusement that may prove advantageous to our…your… cause." She murmured sweetly, pressing up against him like a dutiful, loving wife should. He smelled. She hadn't gotten used to the smell yet. It was an odor somewhere in-between old sweat socks, burnt charcoal, and sulfur; not altogether unpleasant, she thought silently, just acrid in her nostrils.

"And what might that be?" He asked again, tightening his arm and pulling her closer. He didn't understand it at all. In all the multiple millennia that he had known her, he had never looked twice at the old witch; often referring to her as the blue-haired hag. In fact, she had been a thorn in his side for centuries before his return to Earth. Yet suddenly he found her the most intriguing of females, the most evil of strategists, the most wickedly delicious of conspirators. It didn't make him actually giddy, per say, but to merge such an outstanding and brilliant mind such as his own with its one and only female counterpart was nearly intoxicating.

"It seems my little Tommykins has actually gone out and fallen in love with the little pink sweetheart Brachnomaid chose for him." Rita said airily, least he think her more serious in her plotting than she wanted him to.

"What?" Zedd asked, astounded. "The white and pink Rangers have remained with one another?"

He had thought his humiliation of the white Ranger total and complete. It was well known that he and the team's little pink didn't get along well. Her detached spirit had all but told him that herself while she resided in the Lunar Palace. Marrying them off had been a lark. A fun wedding game aimed at tweaking Zordon and saddling the only Ranger he had yet to defeat in battle with a shrew of a wife that he couldn't legally shake off. The two should have been at each other's throats by now. They should be angry at being bound together not embracing the situation. The news didn't sit well with him at all. He didn't want his adversary happy!

"All is not as bad as it seems." Rita soothed, patting his armored cheek reassuringly.

"Ahhh, you have a plan then my love?" He all but laughed with anticipation.

"Yes indeedy Zeddikins." She cackled. "It seems Tommy left a thwarted female behind him. One very eager to turn his head around from the little pink and have his affections all to herself…one who now works for me." She crooned.

"Jealousy!' Zedd crowed. "The most evil and destructive force in the universe! My dear, you are absolutely… evilicious…" He purred the last word seductively.

"Oh Zeddi…" Rita sighed dramatically, turning and throwing her arms around his neck.

Off in the shadows, unseen by the couple, Goldar's shoulders slumped. He had planted the news of Rita's addition to the battle in Zedd's mind as the reason for their failure and as possible evidence that his new and beloved wife was secretly plotting against him, but once again it had backfired. At this rate, the two would procreate within a year. He winced visibly, thinking he might honestly be sick.

* * *

"Carri…hi…" Rocky offered, a little self consciously as he caught up with her at the row of lockers by the stairs before class..

"Huh?" She answered, looking up as if startled by the greeting, then recognizing him. "Oh…hi Rocky." She replied distractedly, then turned and placed her books from her pack on the shelf; drawing out a small pile of notebooks from within.

"How was your weekend?" He asked, trying his best to sound nonchalant. He'd thought about the skirmish all Sunday afternoon and evening, had thought about her all Sunday afternoon and evening, then spent the better part of Sunday night trying to think what he could say to her once they were at school the next day.

"Honestly?" She asked in a dry tone, turning to meet his eyes. "A little weird. How about yours?"

"Weird good or weird bad?" He asked, cringing at the way the question sounded and desperately trying to think of something a little more suave to say. Unsure what to do next, he took her pack from her and held it while she placed her books inside.

"Weird as in my cousin still isn't speaking to me." She answered, zipping the pack and taking it from him.

"I'm sorry." He offered, thinking he really should say something a little better than that, but unable to come up with the words.

"She had a disappointment last week." She muttered by way of explanation, dropping the pack to the floor and taking off her jacket before hanging it up in the locker. "I guess I'm an easy target to take it out on."

"That's a really nasty bruise." He commented, frowning a little as he noticed how large and long the purple and yellow contusion on her arm was. Obviously, Rito hadn't been trounced as easily as he'd assumed.

"It's nothing." She brushed off, shrugging her shoulders and tugging her sleeve down. "No big." She insisted, turning around and staring at him measuringly with her sharp brown eyes.

Rocky DeSantos hadn't exactly ever gone out of his way to talk to her before and she wondered what he was up to. She'd spoken with him exactly twice in two years. Once at the mall the previous Saturday and once the very next Saturday when he subbed for the Karate class she'd just joined at Ernie's .

"Hey…" He said awkwardly, taking a deep breath. "I was just wondering…"

"Hey Rocky!" Kat chimed sweetly, brushing up next to him with flirty eyes and totally ignoring her cousin. Carri glared at her and stood completely still, but didn't utter a sound.

"Hey." He answered, nodding his head and stuffing his hands self-consciously in his pockets.

"Have you seen Tommy around today?" She asked brightly.

"Uhm…no." He answered. "We don't have all that many classes together." He admitted. "Not before lunch anyway."

"Oh…" She replied, looking more than a little disappointed. "Well, tell him I said hi, ok?" She asked, slipping away down the hall and ignoring the black look her cousin shot her.

Carri made a disgusted sound and turned to slam her locker door shut. Locking it, she turned and stomped in the other direction toward her English class.

"Hey wait up!" He called, grabbing his backpack and loping after her.

"What?" She asked, turning around. "We're gonna miss the bell."

"I was just wondering if…uhm…maybe if you're not doing anything…" He stammered, but was cut off as the bell rang loudly and she uttered a completely exasperated sound, eyes rolling up to the ceiling. "Can this day possibly get any worse?" She growled.

"It can wait." He said quickly in a voice a good two octaves higher than normal, then watched in despair as she turned and was absorbed into the throng of students squeezing through the door at the last minute.

As the hallway cleared and the noise of the hustle and bustle silenced, he slowly exhaled the breath he'd been holding, mentally kicking himself for blowing his chance to ask her to the dance. Then realized he was not only alone in the hallway, but late for class, and bolted for the door himself.

* * *

Tommy was completely and utterly infatuated. They were sitting on a blanket in the park and she was studiously completing a drawing assignment while he was supposedly finishing up his science reading.

He loved the way the afternoon sun highlighted her hair. He loved the way her hand moved over the paper and the way her fingers cradled the pencil. He loved the way she crinkled her nose when she made a mistake and he especially loved the way the tank top under her sweater folded open and exposed her chest when she bent over.

They had been an official couple for exactly nine days. Nine of the most wonderful, glorious days of his entire life. Unfortunately, the best parts of those nine days had only happened in stolen moments and secret cuddles when no one was looking.

In sharp contrast to her enthusiasm in Rita's subdimension, she was proving to be painfully shy and woefully ignorant of even the simplest things. It had taken him four straight nights of stolen kisses to even pry her lips apart and she squealed and wiggled uncomfortably any time his hands wandered under or tugged at her clothing. The memory of what she was capable of though, of what they'd experienced under Rita's spell, still haunted his dreams each night. He was desperate to return to that kind of electrifying tumbling, but getting her there was proving frustratingly slow.

Tommy wasn't exactly used to girls that were shy and called a stop to things. It simply hadn't ever happened to him. Yet she had never had a boyfriend before and was bound and determined to take things slowly and learn a little more about each other before allowing things to progress back to the seriousness of their original union. Even reminding her that they were technically married and had already done it more than once hadn't helped much; she'd simply given him a scolding look and buttoned her shirt back up.

He could wait…he hoped anyway. He had already decided he would do whatever it took to win her over; even if the actual process of waiting was proving extremely painful.

"Are you just gonna stare at me all afternoon?" She asked, not even looking up from her paper. Her mother had hired a local artist to give her lessons on drawing foliage and wild life and she had a rather large assignment due the next morning. She had to locate no less than twenty different leaves and stems and draw them in complex detail before her next session in the morning. She had agreed to let him tag along, but only if he let her get her work done.

"Depends on if you're gonna stop drawing long enough for me kiss you." He answered rakishly, fingers reaching out to caress her ankle.

"I still have four more types of leaves to find." She scolded, ignoring his pout and the way his fingers wandered up the cuff of her jeans to caress the calf underneath. "I would have finished it yesterday if you'd have left me alone long enough."

"Most of yesterday," He said, crawling over and repositioning himself so that he was seated behind her, "Was wasted fighting a monster." He complained, scooting over and wrapping his legs and arms around her protectively. He leaned down to nibble her neck and grinned delightedly when she squirmed and giggled.

"You are, by far…" He murmured, searching for the spot on her neck that usually made her moan if his lips hit it just right, "…the most beautiful creature on this planet."

"So you've told me." She giggled, unable to resist arching her neck to give him easier access. When he kissed her there, it was like an electric wire that ran up and down her body. There was even one spot that sent a jolt up through her jaw that would make her lower lip vibrate and tremble.

She loved it when he held her and kissed her like that. There couldn't be a more perfect feeling in all the universe, she thought to herself as his hands wandered underneath the hem of her shirt. Silently, she scolded herself for not telling him to stop, but she really didn't want him to. She loved the way she felt when he touched her and, to her mortification, preferred more attention and not less.

Purring slightly in an unconscious gesture that drove him positively insane, she allowed the sketch pad and pencil to slide away; turning in his arms to kiss him the way he'd shown her the previous night. The act in itself just about undid him and he began to physically shake with the need to swoop her off somewhere more private than an exposed blanket on the grass of the busy park.

"Hi guys!' A familiar accented voice chirped and both of them jumped and turned around; Kim quickly tugging down her shirt and blushing scarlet. "I'm so sorry to interrupt." Kat said sweetly while the two gaped at her in surprise. "My car won't start. Do you think you could help?"

"Oh…uhm, yeah sure." Tommy said. "I can try." He added, beginning to disengage from his girlfriend and stand up.

"Where are you parked?" Kim asked, forehead creased a little as she retrieved her sketch pad and pencil. They were in a rather remote finger of the ninety acre park, not exactly close to any of the four car lots, and she couldn't imagine why Kat would be seeking help so far into that particular section. There were plenty of people around absorbing the afternoon sun and gentle January breezes; more than enough closer than they were to the parking.

"All the way in lot B." Kat groaned helplessly as if it were an awfully long distance away and she just couldn't imagine what she was going to do.

"Isn't there a gas station right across the road from that one?" Kim asked, genuinely frowning now.

For a brief second while Tommy's back was to them, picking up his books and replacing them in is pack, it seemed like Kat gave her an angry look, as if she was interfering in something. The look startled her, but not as much as the butterfly feeling in her stomach. It was a feeling that she'd begun to get since Kemora's possession; a feeling she only experienced when she was genuinely in danger and needed to remove herself from it quickly. She frowned again, taking a more scrutinizing look at the girl, but her attention had turned to Tommy. She couldn't define the way the other girl looked at him, but it was almost…covetous.

Panic gripped her as memories of her Kat and Tommy bubbled to the surface. The other girl wanted him, she realized, and everything from jealous outrage to outright panic shot through her simultaneously. She couldn't have him, was her first thought. She wouldn't step aside as she'd done before. This time was different, both Zordon and Dulcea had said she could live her own life; follow her own heart. But the old fear of changing history wasn't easily squashed and uncertainty filled her. Memories of how her world's Tommy had cooed and fluttered about her world's Kat assaulted her like ice cold needles of water.

As she watched Kat all but devour Tommy with her eyes, another memory bubbled to the surface. There was something odd about her behavior. She didn't know this world's Kat very well, but the way she was acting was strange to say the least. Then she remembered her world's Tommy had fallen in love with Kat while rescuing her from Rita…a rescue that happened after Rita's magic took over the car he'd been helping her with… when Kat had been under Rita's spell and tried to kidnap Tommy.

"I'll be right back." Tommy said, leaning down to kiss the top of her forehead to seal the promise. She looked up in time to see the murderous look Kat gave her and yipped in surprise.

"I'll come with you." She said in a rush, jumping up and grabbing the blanket.

"It's ok, you don't have to." He said, frowning a little. He hated to see her pull the blanket up and was nearly desperate in his need to help out the girl from school as quickly as possible and get back to what they'd been doing.

"That's right, you don't have to." Kat repeated sweetly, giving Kim a harsh look.

"It's no problem." She said, hastily jumbling up the blanket, grass clippings and all, and tucking the sketch pad under her arm. "Really." She added nervously, nodding several times.

"I'm coming right back." Tommy added, reluctant to leave her but even more reluctant to see her pull up the blanket and call a halt to things. "It's a nice spot, we'll lose it."

"Then we'll find a better spot." She replied, giving him a mischievous look and a shy little grin. The meaning wasn't lost on him; they'd find something more private.

He grinned at her and took the blanket from her arms. "Come on then." He said, giving her an adoring look that sent Kat's temper boiling. "Let's help her out."

Behind their backs, Kat gave them a vicious look. She'd been told to get Tommy off alone and away from his friends. If she obeyed, he'd be hers. She glanced around for any sign of Rita, but found nothing out of the ordinary in the late Monday afternoon crowd of students milling around. Kim was going to be a problem, she realized, one that she'd have to deal with first before going after Tommy.


	16. Chapter 16: Pretty Kitty

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 15: Pretty Kitty….

* * *

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. All things Carri belong to KJ, with many thanks._

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**__._-

* * *

Tommy wasn't sure what he expected to find out by following Kim; he just couldn't help it. They weren't arguing exactly, but after Kat's car mysteriously started without incident and they'd slipped away into the shadows of the park to be alone again, he'd pushed her too far past her comfort zone physically and she'd gotten upset with him. It wasn't entirely his fault. She'd indicated she was willing to take things further, allowed him to proceed, then backed out at the last second and called everything to a halt. He'd been frustrated beyond belief and snapped at her; then she'd burst into tears and cried.

He felt really bad about it and had been trying to make amends ever since, but, although she really hadn't been blowing him off, she'd been pointedly unavailable to get together with him all that week. He was now terrified she was avoiding him on purpose. She'd reassured him several times on the phone that she wasn't angry at him at all, just really busy with a project and she'd see him on Sunday after her mom's gallery event. But it was now Friday afternoon and he hadn't actually seen or touched her since that Monday at the park; it was torture and his young heart was in absolute knots.

When he'd spotted her walking down the sidewalk with Carri after telling him not twenty minutes before that she couldn't see him because her mom needed her help, his temper exploded and he'd forgotten all about his promise to meet the guys at the basketball court. He simply couldn't believe he'd been lied to and flashbacks of the old Kimberly and her antics raced through his mind. Fuming, he turned around and followed them, not really sure what he was going to say, but ready to rip her apart for the untruth. There were many things in life Tommy was willing to overlook, but being lied to wasn't one of them.

However, when the girls stopped to talk to someone on the other side of the same basketball courts he was supposed to meet the guys at, instead of confronting them, he stopped too; ducking behind a bush so she wouldn't see him. The frown on his face turned to complete outrage as the girls turned to walk away and the guy they were talking to turned with them; placing a companionable arm around each.

"So this is what you stood us up for?" Rocky's voice asked from behind him.

Startled, he spun around, temper already flaring and ready for a fight. Both Rocky and Adam backed up immediately, but Aisha simply stood there with her hands on her hips.

"You're spying on her?" She asked in a disapproving voice. She liked the alternate and, although Tommy's preoccupation with her was cute, spying was simply obnoxious.

"She said she couldn't meet us because she had to go out with her mom." He fumed defensively. "That doesn't look like her mom to me." He growled, indicating the boy with his arm around his girlfriend.

Aisha's eyes left her friend's angry face to look up and watch the girls walking up towards an old brick building with a boy she didn't know. Even from this distance, he was cute and muscular and their friendly, comfortable way of walking together put a frown on her own face.

"No it doesn't." She commented, slightly disappointed in her new friend. It didn't sit well with her at all that Kim would pull that kind of a stunt. Maybe the old Kimberly might have, but she honestly thought this one was different. Surprising the three boys, she pushed passed Adam with a firm shove and marched over in the direction Kim had taken.

"What are you doing?" Rocky squeaked, his heart pounding. He hadn't been any happier by the strange guy's arm around Kim's friend Carri anymore than Tommy seemed to be about Kim's false excuse to blow him off, but it didn't mean he actually wanted to go over and ask who the guy was. If Kim had a new circle of friends that she didn't want to include them in on, well, it wouldn't be the first time…and he really didn't want to ask Carri out all that desperately either. Maybe that last part wasn't exactly true, he admitted silently, but if there was another guy, then there was another guy and it was better off he hadn't gone and embarrassed himself over her.

Aisha smoothed the frown off her face as she got closer to the trio. The bigger part of her hoped she had a decent explanation, but Aisha had way too many memories of dealing with their old Kimberly to give her too much of a benefit of the doubt. If Kim had lied to Tommy and hurt him, she'd pound the girl herself. They were all Rangers and Rangers just didn't do that to other Rangers. Still, even given her angst, she called out cheerfully and Kim turned, stunned to see her there, but not nearly as stunned as Aisha was when she saw who it was that had his arm around her. She stood in surprised shocked for nearly a second before screaming at the top of her lungs. The scream was all it took for the three guys to leave their camouflage and barrel across the walkway to their friend, ready to take on anything from a mass murderer to Zedd himself, but Aisha simply kept screaming.

"Oh my GOD! Oh my God! Oh my God!" She squealed as the high pitched sound took on actual words. Her hands came up and so did her knees, causing her to bounce around in a little odd dance.

"Aisha breathe…" Kim said, detaching herself from the boy and steeping over to her friend. She gave Carri and almost panicked look, then patted her friends arm hesitantly. "Don't scream….please…" She begged, but her friend was oblivious.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Aisha continued, but in a slightly softer tone. "It's you…" She gushed breathlessly, looking for all the world like she'd feint at any moment. "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my god!"

"What the…" Tommy asked, coming alongside her.

"It's HIM!" Aisha squealed in such a high pitched octave that all around her winced. "It's really HIM!" She wailed, hands coming up over her face and pressing against her cheeks as tears actually left her eyes and fell across her face.

"Who?" Tommy asked, seriously concerned by his friend's odd behavior. Aisha didn't behave like that at all and he wondered if maybe Rita or Zedd had a hand in it. He turned to Kim with a confused look that still had a good deal of pissy anger in it. "Who is that?" He demanded, pointing a finger at the well dressed boy who looked as if he had about as much styling gel in his carefully groomed, frumpy locks as a megazord had firepower.

"Tommy, hi…" Kim said uncertainly, looking as if she'd been caught red handed at something. "This is a friend of Carri's. He's uhm…helping me with that project my mom and I are working on this week."

"Oh wow…" Adam breathed as he came to a stop alongside Aisha, his eyes widening. "It's Zak Haruko!" He exclaimed, a slightly unbelieving look on his face. "You know Zak Haruko?" He asked Kim with a look in-between awe and wonder.

"Who?" Tommy asked, turning to his friends.

"Teenage Mystic Ninja Heroes…" Aisha crooned, nearly doubling in half, tears still spilling down her cheeks as she gaped dreamily at the boy. "It's Kiro!" She sighed. "Oh…oh… wow." She stuttered, hyperventilating a little. "Oh my god, I love you." She gushed dramatically, putting one hand out as if to hesitantly touch the boy, then drawing it back before she actually did."I've always loved you. I just about died when everybody thought in season two that Jougo was gonna replace you…I mean, replace Kiro?" She continued on as if everyone present actually understood her and felt the same.

"You know Zak Haruko?" Rocky asked, equally incredulous and obviously just as awestruck, although not nearly as vocal or theatrical about it. "How?"

"He's Carri's friend." Kim answered again, frowning at their reactions to the boy she'd met the previous day, then, turning to Tommy, said with an apologetic wince, "I couldn't tell anyone he's here helping with the auction. We'd be mobbed. Carri swore me to secrecy, they're not even gonna announce he's appearing in person until the day of."

"So…are you guys planning on helping out with this thing or is this just a weird coincidence that you're all out here?" Carri asked with a slight edge to her voice. Aisha's squeals had drawn the attention of a few people, but fortunately most of them hadn't looked closely enough to notice what it was all about. If word got out, Kim was right, they'd be mobbed within seconds.

"Helping out with what?" Tommy asked testily. Most of his anger had diffused a bit, but he was still annoyed. Kim had told him she had to go out with her mom and he pointedly asked her as much.

"Oh she's here." Kim answered with a frown, jerking her thumb back towards the building. "We picked Zak up at his hotel and she dropped him here at the back entrance. She's just parking the car out front and we walked around." She said, indicating her and Carri.

"Guys, I hate to break this up." Carri interjected, "But we really need to get inside. Either you're here to help or you aren't."

"Help with what?" Adam asked.

"With the fundraiser for the shelter." She replied as if it was obvious, foot tapping a little. If Kim hadn't invited them, then things could get dicey if they spilled the beans that Zak was in town. He'd only agreed to help her because he was her brother's friend and had known her all his life. He trusted her to keep quiet. Zak was a mega teen star now and it was almost impossible for him to go anywhere or do anything without hordes of teenage girls reacting exactly as Aisha had. He understood and accepted it as part of his career, but that didn't mean he wanted to spend his weekend off dealing with it; he hadn't even hired a security guard.

"What shelter?" Aisha asked, finally gaining her wits enough to frown a little and blink in confusion.

In response, Kim sort of looked down at her shoes uneasily, shuffling a little as if she was embarrassed. She jerked her thumb again upward over her shoulder. Above her was a tiny sign that read: Little Angels.

"It's a foster home for kids that don't have a place to go." She mumbled, still shuffling her feet and not really looking at them. "It's where they go when social services hasn't found a foster home or maybe the foster home didn't work out." She mumbled, looking anywhere but at them. "They're seriously behind on their rent and I had an idea to auction off some of the kids artwork at my mom's big gallery event on Sunday…you know, sort of a…charity kind of thing." She said uneasily. "Then I was talking to Carri about it and she came up with the idea of having some of the actors from her dad's shows come in and maybe put their hand prints on the canvases the kids were working on… and maybe add their signatures alongside those of the kids…then maybe the canvasses would draw more money."

"I think it's an awesome idea." Zak offered, speaking up for the first time since Aisha had waylaid them and stepping up to Kim with a huge grin and a chummy squeeze of her shoulder that sent Tommy's anger in overdrive. "What Kim's doing for these kids is fantastic."

"That's so sweet…" Aisha crooned, drowning out Tommy's growl and causing Carri to stomp her foot and toss her hair in frustration.

She'd known Zak since she was a baby and it completely baffled her that girls considered the goofball a heartthrob. He was an actor, and even though he was admittedly a very cute actor, he wasn't necessarily a very good one. "Are any of you helping out of not?" She asked bluntly, toe tapping rhythmically.

"We're helping." Rocky chimed in enthusiastically. He'd watched Teenage Mystic Ninja Heroes right up until a few months ago when life had simply become too busy. It was one of those shows where you had to catch every episode or you didn't know what was going on and after missing three in a row, he'd simply let it go until the annual summer re-run marathon. That didn't mean he still wasn't a fan though; it was one of the best martial arts dramas on prime time. "Definitely helping." He added, nodding. "What can we do?"

As Carri turned and ushered the teen idol through the back entrance of the shelter, the others followed, but Tommy reached out and held Kim back with a firm grip on her elbow. She didn't look at him and shifted uneasily.

"Why didn't you tell me this was what you were doing all week?" He asked in a softer tone, hand still gripping her elbow firmly.

"It all just sort of fell into place a few days ago." She muttered, still not meeting his eyes. "Mom's been setting it up with her artist friends to donate artwork for a few weeks now but Carri just called her dad and a few of her friends on Monday…she's apparently known Zak since they were kids, he's the son of some actor from Japan I've never heard of but is supposedly really famous too…and it all kinda came together all at once just yesterday."

"But why not tell me?" He pressed. He didn't like the way she was acting, like she was embarrassed and he wondered angrily if there was something more between her and the teen idol than just an art show. He'd heard of the show, everyone had heard of the show, but it wasn't one he followed regularly. Despite the heavy emphasis on martial arts, which would normally draw his attention, his old friends in Arizona had proclaimed it goofy and here in Angel Grove where the others were really into it… well, he generally had enough of monsters and alien drama in his life without adding it to his entertainment during the down times.

"Tommy…" She sighed, breaking free of him and walking over to a nearby bench. She started to sit, then decided against it, sighing heavily again and not looking at him.

"What, Mr. Teen Heartthrob TV sensation make a move on you?" He demanded. She looked up in surprise and he immediately regretted his words at the hurt look in her eyes.

"No!" She insisted, offended by the comment. "Of course not. I mean, he's a nice guy and all, but I'd never heard of him before Carri introduced me." She answered. "It's not like I can remember who's on all the current TV shows."

"Then why are you acting all….weird… all of a sudden?" He asked, anger still not quite dissolved, he'd seen the way the other guy had looked at Kim when he'd praised her. There was nothing casual about it; he was totally interested.

"I'm not acting weird." She answered defensively, turning to face him.

"Yes you are." He insisted. "You're busy and can't see me all week, you don't tell me what you're doing, then I find out it's some sort of charity thing, which is incredibly awesome, but you won't look me in the eye when you talk about it."

"It's…oh never mind." She said, turning around and crossing her arms in front of her. It was complicated and not like she wanted to talk about it. Her time in the homeless children's shelter had both frightened and embarrassed her. It had meant she had to accept at a very young age that no one wanted her. Although both her mother and her father's family were very extended, and for the most part very wealthy, all had seemed very relieved to see her stuck in the home and have the state take care of her.

"Why didn't you want me to know about this?" He asked heatedly, bringing her mind into the present. "Are you interested in this Zak guy or something?"

"No!" She said defensively, frowning at him in irritation. Zak was really cute, and he was really nice, but she honestly wasn't interested in him at all. She had the boy she was interested in; at least she thought she did. She hadn't wanted to not see him over the last few days, especially with Kat acting so strangely, but it had just worked out that way.

"Then what?" He demanded, taking a step closer and turning her around a little more roughly than he intended.

"This is where I used to live." She hissed, thrusting her jaw out defiantly.

"What?" He asked, taken aback. He softened his grip on her arm, genuinely confused.

"Before…you know…" She whispered uncomfortably, looking around to see if anyone was close by. She'd promised Zordon she'd never talk about it outside the Power Chamber. "This is a place for kids nobody wants." She added, shoulders rising in a sort of hunched up position, as if she was admitting something she didn't want anyone to know about.

Tommy felt like the wind had been completely knocked out of him. He turned and looked at the little sign again, paying closer attention. In small letters under the name it was clearly printed: A Home for Children. It was situated right next to the basketball courts he'd played at since moving to Angel Grove and he hadn't even known it was there.

"This is a forgotten place." Kim muttered as if dealing with bitter memories. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest and she still wouldn't look at him. "It's for forgotten kids; kids that nobody wants to bother with."

Looking at her, watching her struggle to contain the emotion behind the mask she showed everyone, he suddenly felt like the biggest ass in the universe. The resident Kimberly may have been pampered and incredibly spoiled, but her alternate wasn't. The Kim before him had known a completely different reality and it was hard to remember that sometimes. She'd only confided a little of her past life to him, but he knew the years before she'd joined the Rangers hadn't been happy ones for her.

"I know it didn't happen." She continued in a rush, talking about her past the way she'd been instructed to; as if it were a dream that had never been. "But it was very real to me. I didn't want to forget that part of the dream; walk away from it and never look back. These kids will always be forgotten if no one bothers to remember they're here."

"I'm sorry." He said contritely, stepping forward to hug her. As his arms wrapped around her small frame, she leaned into him as if drawing support. "I keep forgetting you don't remember things the way we do." He whispered, stroking her back up and down.

"My mom thinks I'm crazy." She half laughed and half sobbed into his shoulder. "She can't figure out why I suddenly want to do this so badly. But I think she's really enjoyed the past week. It's just exploded and I think she's really surprised how much everyone is getting into it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked again, but in a nicer tone.

"I'm not supposed to talk about it, remember?" She said a little bitterly, leaning back a little, then disengaging altogether.

Turning, she threw her hands into the air. "I was embarrassed, ok? I'm supposed to be this spoiled little rich girl. I didn't want you to know there was another side. I didn't want you to think of me as…" She paused and bit her lip, looking up at him cautiously. She was going to say she didn't want him to think of her as a foster kid. That was how her Tommy had thought of her; as homeless. Sometimes, when she was alone, she'd wonder if her Tommy liked Kat more because she came from somewhere, had a family. She knew it was silly, and she was probably being unfair to her dead friend, but it was an old misgiving and not an easy one to squash. "I have to go forward, I can't look back." She said after a moment. "I just didn't think you'd understand." She mumbled uncomfortably, shaking her head to clear the last of the shadows away.

"Kim…Beautiful…" He said gently, stepping up to her and cupping both hands on either side of her small face. "I understand." He said genuinely, holding her eyes and trying to impress upon her that he really did.

Although he and his mom were close, he and his dad had sometimes had a bit of a rocky relationship. He knew his adoptive father loved him, but he had also always longed to know where he came from and his dad's sometimes detached behavior only emphasized those longings. He couldn't really identify with what she'd been through, but he knew what it was like to long for a family that you didn't know existed or not.

"I was really scared you were mad at me." He admitted uncomfortably as her hands reached up and clasped his.

"I told you I wasn't." She replied earnestly.

"I know." He answered, leaning his forehead down to meet hers. "I just want this to work between us so badly and then I couldn't see you all week and…" He stopped as Kimberly's mother called to her from the back entrance of the shelter.

"You want to come help?" She asked, rubbing her nose against his playfully and giving him a look that made him long to find somewhere private to take her.

"Of course I do." He answered in a soft tone; adding silently as their foreheads parted and they walked hand and hand back to the entrance that there was no way in hell he was leaving her alone with Mr. TV Personality.

* * *

"You were told to get Tommy alone." Rita hissed. Her little kitty cat wasn't nearly as effective as she'd hoped she'd be. Things were taking too long and Zedd was getting edgy. A cold wind blew off the waters of Angel Grove lake as she fumed and chastised her little toy.

"I tired." Kat spat back defensively, anger and frustration rising. "Kimberly won't leave him alone for more than ten seconds at a time."

"He's been without her all week." Rita reminded her testily. "You've had four whole days to gain his attention and you've accomplished nothing!"

"I've tried." Kat protested. "It's not nearly as easy as you said it would be."

"Do you want him or not?" Rita growled, hands finding their way to her hips. The little kitty was getting a bit too uppity for her taste. Why the little blond chit couldn't sustain that level of anger for more than a few minutes at a time was beyond her. The spell had obviously been slipping, but it was now firmly back in place. The biggest reason for drawing her out to the deserted lakeside was to re-up the evil energy tainting her mind. The silly thing had to be reminded constantly that she had to be a bad girl.

She didn't know what the problem was, the spell was a good one, anyone else would be out committing mass murder by now, but the little chit in front of her seemed to mellow by the hour. What a soft little kitten she'd unwittingly chosen, she thought in frustration. Of all the thousands of females she could have sent in a jealous rage after her little green, she'd chosen one of the mushiest, kindest hearts in all of Angel Grove. It was maddening beyond belief.

"Of course I want him!" Kat snapped at her, eyes blazing at the challenge as the energy of the spell thickened and crackled around her.

"Then you'd better figure out how to reel him in and fast." Rita fumed. "Otherwise, that diminutive little pink is going to secure his affections for all eternity and you, my little pussycat, are going to be left out all alone in the cold with no one to pet you!"

Kat glared at the old witch with something akin to absolute hatred. She'd tried and tried, both in and out of school, to get Tommy's notice all week, but he always seemed to be surrounded by his friends. It was the pink's fault. That little brown eyed mouse had turned his head to the point where he couldn't think about anything else. Well, that would change, Kat thought bitterly to herself.

"That will not be a problem any longer." She snarled, giving Rita a malicious look and the witch grinned at her in response.

"Pretty kitty…" Rita crooned, green energy leaving her staff and enveloping the girl again. "You'll have everything you deserve…just bring me Tommy…"

"Yes…yes you're right…" Kat whispered as if from a distance, absorbing the last of the evil energy through her pores. "I'll have everything…"

Vaguely she wondered just what she was doing. If Tommy was happy with Kim, why would she want to break them up? That wasn't right, that wasn't what she'd want someone else to do to her. But the thoughts drifted away as the green clouds smothered her mind again. She deserved to have a boyfriend…and she deserved the one she wanted. Nothing was going to stop her from obtaining him…nothing. Kimberly needed to remember that little brown mice tended to get eaten if they weren't careful.

* * *

"So…" Rocky said in what he honestly hoped was a suave tone as he placed a box of acrylic paint tubes on the table next to where Carri was helping a group of five year olds finish painting their mural. "This is a really great project you guys are working on. I mean the cause, the uhm, the kids and all…"

Carri looked up at him sharply, but there was a twinkle in her dark eyes. The school's star right fielder had been oblivious to her since before she could remember, but now seemed to show up every time she turned around. It was kinda cute the way he tried to act all sophisticated and smooth all of a sudden. She'd thought for a while he might ask her out, but so far he hadn't done much except try and get her attention.

"What'll be great is if my dad's friends actually come through and start bidding on this stuff." She responded morbidly. She really didn't have a whole lot of faith in it and her dad had been lukewarm on the idea at best. He was humoring her because he wanted to one-up her mom on the "who loves you best" dial; which was about the only good thing about having two parents on either side of the continent who weren't speaking to one another. "Nothing's certain yet."

"Yeah but, you've got all these stars and stuff putting their handprints on them. That's gotta be worth something." He said.

"We'll see." She replied unenthusiastically and he frowned a bit. "We didn't really have enough time to put this thing together the way it should be." She clarified. "We need more time to promote it in the media to the people who would not only be interested in buying this stuff but actually have the money to really make it count." She said practically. "It's not gonna do a whole heck of a lot if ten canvasses sell for twenty bucks a piece. We need to get the attention of the people who'd pay twenty thousand and not blink at it."

"But you think it'll still work right?" He asked, leaning against the table. "They'll get enough to catch them up?"

"Maybe." She sighed. "I already leaked it to the press that Zak would be at the auction and why he was coming. We're also trying to get a couple other cast members from his show to come, but that's not certain yet. Some of them are working on other stuff and some just can't get out here in time."

"That would be awesome." Rocky said, grinning like an idiot. "From the way these kids are talking, those guys are their total heroes."

"Yeah well…" Carri muttered, rolling her eyes. "It's gonna take a hero to pull this thing off."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, frowning. He really didn't get her sometimes. How anyone who'd been given everything they could ever dream of all their lives could be so angry and morbid was beyond him. He just simply didn't understand it.

"Nothing." She said, shaking her head dismissively. "It's just that his shelter is over thirty grand in the hole. It costs them thousands a month more than the state gives them to keep it open and their only other benefactors are a few churches and a phone list of donors. They need someone to step in and rescue them. It's not like the guys on that show are real heroes or anything. They're mostly teenagers just like us." She said giving him a sardonic look.

"That's not encouraging." He answered uneasily. "I mean, those guys are really looked up to."

"Yeah well…" She replied with another eye roll. "Trust me, outside of scripts and stunt doubles, just about everyone on that show is a goofball." She said gruffly. "Don't get me wrong," She added hurriedly, glancing around the room to find where her friend had gotten off to. "Zak's cool. He's one of the few that actually gets that he's really an actor and not a Power Ranger, but most of those guys…" She said, scrunching her nose up.

"You think the Power Rangers are bigger heroes than the Mystic Ninjas?" He asked incredulously. Those guys had been his own idols for more than four years, to be compared to them made his head kind of giddy.

"Oh please." Carri scoffed. "The Rangers? They actually go out and beat the crap out of alien monsters who want to seriously take over the world and kill people. The Ninja Heroes? The only thing those idiots beat is…aw, never mind…" She said with a disgusted snort.

Rocky grinned at her like an idiot, he couldn't help it. If ever there was a time when he wished more than anything else he could tell someone who he was, this was it. He wasn't just any Ranger, he was the red Ranger. True, Tommy still lead the team, but a red was a red. The idea that girls might swoon over him like they did Zak amused him to no end, but Ranger code was Ranger code.

"Too bad we can't get the Power Rangers to help out with this thing." Carri said wistfully, sorting through the box of paints and handing several colors out to her enthusiastic young artists in an effort to get some variety into the so-called mural.

"Why, what could they do?" He asked.

"Draw more media attention for one." She answered absently. "I mean, we'll get the entertainment press and maybe the social columnists, but if the Rangers showed up to the preliminary viewing event tomorrow? It'd be all over the main news and that would draw a much bigger audience to the actual auction on Sunday… And I think it would be the highlight of these kids lives." She added, looking around the room.

She'd never known this place existed until Kim had told her about it. It had surprised her that the other girl would devote so much time into a fundraiser to save it, but the bigger surprise had been the condition these kids lived in. It wasn't horrible, it was clean and the staff was nice, but Carri had been given the best of everything in life. The contrast between her home and the overcrowded shelter was shocking to her. It felt good to try and help them. From the looks of the place, not many people seemed to bother with it, which made her want to stay involved longer than just one little charity event.

"I don't think these kids have ever really had much to look forward to." She muttered bitterly. "But it's not like you can just call the Rangers on the phone and ask."

Rocky looked around the room and watched as various groups of kids splattered paint on different sized canvasses. Zak was one of two celebrities that had actually shown up for the painting session, but there were a few others that were going to Carri's dad's production office later that evening to add a hand print and sign their names under it.

Why couldn't the Power Rangers make an appearance? He wondered to himself. It was a good cause and he didn't think Zordon would mind. He'd have to ask permission first, but he was pretty sure it'd be ok. Even if the others didn't want to, maybe just the red Ranger could pay the kids a visit. He grinned to himself at the thought. He might not be able to impress Carri with the knowledge that he was a Power Ranger, but he could still do a good deed for the kids.

"What are you looking all self satisfied about?" She asked, sharp eyes regarding him curiously.

"Nothing." He said dismissively, giving her a lopsided grin. "Just thinking."

* * *

Zak Haruko was a little older than the teen he played on TV. Not much, but enough to get him into trouble with the almost sixteen year old girl that had caught his interest. At first he'd thought Kimberly had been faking the non-recognition thing. Everywhere he went, girls reacted the same way. They either screamed like Aisha had, gushed over him, cried, feinted, or explicitly whispered in his ear exactly what they were capable of doing to him in his hotel room. But Carri had pulled him aside before he'd left her mom's house the previous night and told him the girl had almost complete amnesia. She'd been attacked by a monster and saved by the Power Rangers themselves; but almost everything in her head was topsy-turvy. That didn't stop him from seriously admiring both her compassion for the kids they were working with or her courage in picking up her life; she was also damn sweet to look at.

He'd known Carri almost his whole life. She was the little sister of one of his best friends and their father had been a friend of his father for decades. His dad had been, and really still was, one of the greatest martial arts actors of his generation and crawling out from under the shadow he'd grown up under hadn't exactly been easy.

Zak was not his father, either in talent or in looks, but he had the added advantage of having a well known family name, money, and experience. His dad had had him before the cameras when he was just literally just hours old. All his life, it had been drilled into his head that his father's ability to carry off the type of high action adventure movies he made would be limited as he got older and it was up to his son to continue the legacy.

But although Zak was fairly good at martial arts, he was a long way from his dad. Fortunately, he'd carved out a niche for himself as a young heartthrob first on a high school drama and then on his current show. He had no illusions, sci-fi shows didn't last on the networks very long, but if he was smart, he could use the experience and his dad's name to land himself a movie deal or two in something more respectable than what he'd previously been offered.

He knew very well that teen idols didn't stay teen idols. His dad reminded him almost daily that he wouldn't be cute and fluffy forever; pounded it into his head actually. At twenty, he could still pass for seventeen, but that wasn't going to last more than another year or two. Re-making his image was about as high a priority for him as it was for Carri. As Carri confided in him how much she admired the young gymnast for not letting life get her down but instead facing it head on and demanding to put the pieces back together the way she wanted instead of the way others wanted it, the more he began to admire the little doe-eyed girl too. That was exactly what he needed to do himself; stop banging his head against a concrete wall and define his life the way he wanted it, not his dad.

He'd thought about her all night and had eagerly waited all morning to see her again, but he was also very much of a realist. At the moment, his age presented a huge problem for him. Four years difference in age wasn't a whole lot, considering, but when those ages were sixteen and twenty, it would buy him a whole lot of bad publicity he really couldn't afford. Oh sure, he could go ahead and ask her out, but given his reputation and his co-worker's current scandalous affair with a pregnant fifteen year old, the tabloids would rip him to shreds. He'd already decided it would be best to keep her very publicly as a friend of his best friend's little sister, but as the day went on, he was finding himself with a fairly serious crush; something that hadn't happened to him in a long time. Carri's friend was pretty, she was sweet, she was genuine, and he thought that, just maybe, she might actually like him for who he was and not what the publicity people made him out to be.

The boyfriend presented another problem, he admitted to himself, stealing a glance at the very possessive boy shadowing her, but given the way things were, that was most likely a huge blessing. He didn't dare touch her now and as for later… well, teenage relationships rarely lasted for long. But he was left wondering how he could plant the right seeds now so that he could somehow swoop back in and catch her interest in about two years; when no one would bat an eye. As he watched her work with the kids in the shelter, he found it a very nice dilemma to ponder.

* * *

Rita nearly doubled over in laughter as she watched the pretty boy in the shelter stalk Zordon's pink with his eyes and Tommy nearly spit with jealous outrage. It was simply too good to be true. Between her little pussy cat riling the pink and the wanna-be hero agitating her former green, life was about to get very interesting for the Power punks.


	17. Chapter 17: Trouble With Pink

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 17: Trouble With Pink….

* * *

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. All things Carri belong to KJ, with many thanks._

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**__._

* * *

"This is so awesome." Adam said as they hung the last of the children's artwork on the grey folding display walls of the exhibition area in Angel Grove's Art Museum. "The kids did a really good job on these. I think their work is better than some of the real artists."

"Yeah it's great what she put together." Tommy answered absently, picking up the last of their tools, but at the same time keeping Kim and her famous new shadow squarely in his sight.

Adam paused and regarded his friend, then turned and followed his stare back toward Kimberly and Zack Haruko. Zack was making her giggle as they hung the last of their framed canvases and he looked for all the world to be completely infatuated with their pink team member. He turned his eyes back to his friend and grimaced. Tommy looked like he did just before Goldar charged; like he was about to slaughter something with his bare hands. He hadn't been around when Tommy had been Rita's evil green Ranger, but he was pretty sure it was basically the same look in his eyes.

"Come on man…" He said hesitantly, giving his friend a sympathetic look. "He's a movie star. He's here for the auction, then he's gonna go back to LA and work on his show."

"I guess." Tommy muttered, looking away from his girlfriend and the handsome boy flirting with her. "I just don't get it, you know?" He looked up at Adam, who gave him a baffled look. "I mean, first she says she wants to, then she says she doesn't want to. Then she doesn't tell me about this thing…then he shows up…"

"Doesn't want to what?" Adam asked, not understanding.

"Never mind." He grunted. It really wasn't a conversation he wanted to have anyway. "I guess that's the trouble with pink Rangers." He muttered angrily, breaking his own silent rule about not comparing the Alternate with her predecessor. "They can't make up their minds."

Adam looked from Kimberly to his friend and then back to the pink Ranger, who was now heading down the hall with Zack. He honestly didn't think Tommy had any cause to be so jealous, but he was right, Kimberly hadn't told any of them what she was up to until she'd been forced into it.

"It'll be fine Tommy." He said in what he hoped was an encouraging tone. "Like I said, he'll be leaving on Monday and everything will get back to normal. Besides, it's not like she didn't come with us to Ernie's last night instead of going to dinner with Zack and Carri." He added, silently hoping his friend would remember that the two had split off from the others and spent the rest of the evening cooing at each other at the juice bar. "And she was at your karate class this morning despite the fact that Carri said her mom had fussed at her about it making them late to set up this morning. And what's more, she doesn't look at him at all like she looks at you."

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked, turning to him and frowning a little.

Surprised by the question, Adam back peddled a little, stuttering. "I mean…well, uh, she looks at you like…well…"

"Like what?" Tommy pressed.

"Aw I dunno." Adam stammered uncomfortably, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You know, all…well, lovesick and stuff."

"You think?" Tommy asked hopefully with enough puppy-like emotion to cause his friend to blush with embarrassment and turn away.

"Well, yeah…" Adam answered awkwardly. The two had done nothing but make google eyes at each other since getting together; it was sickeningly obvious to everyone. "Trust me, she doesn't look at Zack at all like that."

Tommy turned and stared mournfully down the now vacant hall where Kim had left, hoping his friend was right. His chest felt like it had a thousand pounds of weight pressing against it. He'd never, ever been in knots like this before and it hurt like hell. He couldn't stand it that the pretty super hero wanna-be was paying her so much attention and, worse, she wasn't flat out rebuffing the interloper. Every giggle, every bat of her eyelashes, was like a knife straight through his heart. Memories of how her predecessor had rebuffed him wiggled just under the surface of his conscious thought; the other Kimberly had chosen an older man over him too. "I hope your right." He muttered longingly, silently berating himself once again for getting angry at her when she'd called their make-out session in the park to a halt.

* * *

Kim took a moment to breathe deeply in the cool winter air outside on the marble steps of the Museum; the winter sun warming her upturned face and glowing just beyond her closed lids. Zack was fun, but he was also exhausting. She liked him, and being nice to him like Carri had urged was fairly easy, but he was also rather full of himself. Exhausted by the constant attention, she excused herself to go outside and help Carri; knowing he couldn't follow until the press conference started.

His show hadn't existed on her world and she knew very little about it. She also hadn't seen any of the movies he'd been in, so the hype surrounding him baffled her. He wasn't a real hero, but he acted all important, as if he'd really done all the things in his movies and had really saved the world multiple times. He basked in the adoration surrounding him, yet insisted he was just a normal guy. If he'd really considered himself a normal guy, she sniffed to herself, he wouldn't try so hard to insist he was normal, and as one who really had helped to save the world several times, she found his TV persona amusing rather than inspiring.

Lowering her head from the sunlight, she shook her head. She'd be glad to see him leave on Monday, but she still had the press event to get through that afternoon and the actual auction tomorrow. Until then, she'd heed Carri's advice and not tick him off. They needed his star power to draw crowds and his endorsement to get people bidding. It wasn't a bad task, she mused. She did like him, but she wished she had more time to spend with Tommy instead.

She honestly didn't know what to do with that boy either, she mused, and wished she wasn't a whole year younger than the rest of the team; maybe then she'd know how to handle things better. Tommy made her feel wonderful and the physical side of their relationship made her feel amazing too, but she was scared. True, according to the Intergalactic Community, they were technically married and that marriage had definitely been consummated in Rita's subdimension, but now that the spell eliminating their inhabitations was gone, how did you deal with the overwhelmingly confusing feelings left behind?

She was convinced that she loved Tommy, loved the way she felt when she was with him, but was it right to enter into a sexual relationship at their age? She honestly didn't know and wished her mother was still alive so she could ask. Her new mother had tried very hard to steer her away from Tommy, but when that hadn't worked, she'd made it very clear that she should enjoy Tommy's affections, but sex was a huge mistake. Sex would only complicate things, she'd lectured, and abstinence was the only solution in her current romance. Kim had simply nodded numbly, mentally reliving vivid memories of her wedding night in Rita's sub-dimension. Her mother had seemed satisfied at the time with her silent nodding, but then she'd launched into excruciating detail about how not to get pregnant; just in case her daughter had forgotten. To further confuse things, the long conversation had ended with her mother telling her that she had a whole life to put together for herself and that her new life needed to revolve around her wants and needs, not her boyfriend's wants and needs. But Kim wanted Tommy.

The emotions were all too new to fully understand. Did it matter since they were technically married and had already done it anyway? Was she a bad girl for saying yes or a bad girlfriend for saying no? Would Kat be able to turn his head if she kept refusing? That thought scared her more than any other. But, then again, if she gave in, would he still leave her for the pretty blond anyway? She was simply too young to answer the questions burning through her mind. Zordon had always told her to do what felt right in her heart…but it seemed like her heart just couldn't make up its mind what was right and what was wrong.

Sighing heavily, she picked up a few folding chairs and headed over to where Aisha and Carri were helping to set up for the press event in the Museum's gardens. Some of the children's better artwork was displayed prominently on a raised platform as well as a few works from some of the prominent artists who had donated their paintings to the shelter's cause. Proudly displayed front and center were the small canvasses containing the handprints and signatures of no less than fourteen stars who worked for Carri's dad.

She paused briefly as her eyes caught her mother gushing over a rather nasty piece of modern art. She'd groaned when she'd unpacked it earlier that morning and commented out loud that the oil on canvas composition entitled "Extrapolation of a Mole" was the nastiest thing she'd ever seen. It featured an ugly grey creature, with huge eyes, dressed as a turn of the century French artist, splashing paint around. Unfortunately, she'd been overheard and, curious, the man had turned and asked her why she thought that way. Flustered, she'd stammered and back tracked, but when asked if modern art simply wasn't her thing, she'd gotten her gander up and explained that it wasn't the abstraction that bothered her, but the use of odd colors and unbalanced lighting.

The man had grinned at her, eyes twinkling with mischief, and told her in his very heavy French accent that that was exactly the reason he'd donated it to be auctioned off for charity instead of selling it in the gallery with the others. Mortified, she'd rushed an apology, but he'd waved her off, insisting that she hadn't offended him in the least and praising her on her good sense. Now, before her, that same artist was allowing her mother to gush all over him and the same offensive painting of a mole. He looked up, catching her eyes, and winked at her playfully. She froze, terrified her mother would call her over, then cautiously turned around and began to stiffly walk in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Carri yelled, bouncing over. "We need the chairs over there!" She said, pointing to the area where her mother was proudly displaying the god-awful mole painting on its own golden easel.

"I kind of insulted that particular painting earlier this morning." Kim admitted sheepishly, jerking her head back in the direction of her mom, who was fussing over the exact angel the painting should be displayed.

"Extrapolation of a Mole?" Carri asked, turning and scrunching up her nose. "Yeah, the thing's nasty." She agreed. "But it's supposedly worth several thousand dollars."

"The artist kind of overheard me." Kim admitted, giving Carri a horrified and pleading look.

"Shit…" Carri muttered and Kim nodded her head in agreement. "Alright, give me the chairs. You go back inside and keep Zack happy."

Kim nodded and swallowed the protest that threatened to leave her lips. Zack was a nice guy, she could easily handle him, she told herself. Besides, in just under forty-eight hours he'd be going back to work and would completely forget about her. Then she could go back to making it up to Tommy for ignoring him.

"Hey," Carri called again and Kim turned back around to face her. "You seen Rocky today?"

"He was over at the shelter earlier with Billy, helping organize the kids for the bus ride over. Why?"

"No reason." She answered, shrugging her shoulders indifferently. "You guys just seem to travel in a pack."

"Oh." Kim answered, frowning a little and trying to gauge if her friend was criticizing or simply commenting, but Aisha's squeal broke her thoughts and both girls looked up to see what was going on.

"What is it?" Carri called, getting a better grip on the chairs and walking over. Noticing that her mom and the artist had wandered off to the sidelines, Kim followed.

"Just the most beautiful white cat I've ever seen." Aisha crooned in a sing-song voice. "Poor baby, are you lost sweetheart?" She murmured softly, picking the large white cat up and stroking its head.

Kim stopped dead in her tracks; heart pounding and the breath catching in her throat. She knew that feline very well. It had lived with her and Aisha on her home world for several weeks before transforming back into Katherine Hillard and trying to kill her.

"I wonder where she came from." Aisha speculated, examining the pristine fur that was free of mats and fleas. If she was lost, she surmised, she hadn't been lost for very long. "She's been really well taken care of, but there's no collar or id tag."

"Put it down Aisha." Kim said cautiously, the terror in her voice so evident that both girls turned to her in surprise. "That's no cat." She stammered. The odd, sick butterfly feeling she'd sometimes felt since Kemora's possession swirled with full force in her stomach; recognizing evil for what it was and warning her that she was in danger. As her brown eyes locked with the cat's blue ones, both sets flashed with bright red starbursts that met half way and exploded. The white cat hissed at her and, in surprise, Aisha dropped it and it ran away.

"Now what was that all about?" Aisha asked, confused by what had just happened.

"Probably has rabies." Carri muttered, something about the white feline gave her the creeps. There had been an odd flash of red light too, although her eyes had been turned away, scanning the park in case someone was looking for a lost cat. "What did you mean that wasn't a cat?" She asked turning with Aisha away from the retreating white form loping through the park at high speed.

But Kim didn't answer and both girls gasped and cried out simultaneously as Kim feinted dead away on the sidewalk.

* * *

"Well that didn't exactly go as planned." Rito commented as he and Rita watched Katherine high tail it past them through the park.

"I don't get it." Rita responded with a confused look and a deeply lined frown. "The pink Ranger acted as though she knew my little kitty wasn't the fur ball she was pretending to be."

"Guess you could say the cat's out of the bag, huh…" Rito chimed in dryly, shifting from side to side as if overly pleased with the remark.

"Oh shut up." Rita snapped testily, hands coming up to her hips in frustration. "Something isn't right with that little pink power brat and I'm gonna find out what it is."

"Hey, it looks like she's passed out." Rito commented, raising one bony finger to point in the direction of the girls, but when he turn around, his sister had already disappeared. "Oh well." He shrugged comically. "I guess the cat got her tongue…get it? Hey, the cat got her…oh well…" He mumbled, dissolving into a pile of bones which also disappeared.

* * *

Kat bounded as fast and as far through the park as her four pawed legs could carry her; overturning picnic baskets and unbalancing several rollerblading kids as she went. When she could run no longer, she bounded up a tree and sat on a large limb. Small lungs heaving for air, she cautiously looked around her and, satisfied that no one had followed her, morphed back into her human form.

Chest still heaving and gulping for air, she smoothed her hair down, tucking it behind her ears, then grabbed the tree limb tightly. What had just happened? She wondered. It was if Kimberly had recognized her even though she'd been a cat. The realization that she had actually been a cat was just as astounding. What was going on? What had happened? She asked herself in an almost total panic. This wasn't what she wanted, it wasn't her. Kimberly had recognized her as an evil being, had challenged her as an unwanted evil spirit, but she wasn't evil; she was a good girl. How had her life gotten so completely out of control?

"Here kitty kitty…" An evil voice cackled, interrupting her thoughts. Kat jumped, nearly losing her balance, and looked down in terror to see Rita waving her down from the tree limb; frightened, she shook her head no. "Now now…" Rita insisted. "Be a good little pussy cat and come down here."

"No!" Kat shouted in panic, shaking her head fiercely. "I won't. I don't want to do this anymore. Kimberly knew I was evil, that I wanted to hurt her. I'm not evil, I'm not! I'm a good girl!"

"Now you listen to me you flea bitten piece of fluff, I'm not finished with you yet!" Rita hissed angrily. "You belong to me and I'm not done with you. Do you want your Tommy or not?"

"No!" Kat wailed, bringing her knees up to her chest and pressing against the trunk of the tree. "Not like that! I don't want to do this! Please….just let me go!" She begged.

Rita growled her frustration, eyes narrowing on the silly blond chit cowering above her. It was almost more trouble than it was worth, but if she didn't come back with some sort of success, she might lose her influence with her new husband. Zedd was already questioning her motives. She had to come back with a Ranger as her prisoner or risk looking like a complete failure. Green or pink, at this point she didn't care, but it was too late to start over with another plan.

"You listen to me girlie…" She snarled, staff raised toward the cowering girl. "You get your pretty little paws down from that tree and bring me one of the Rangers!"

"No!" Kat wailed and Rita stomped her foot in frustration.

Clenching her teeth, she raised her staff and knocked the girl off the limb with an energy bolt. Kat fell with a scream and landed unceremoniously on the hard ground, crying out as the pain in her shoulder bit through her, then cowering with her hands held upward as Rita trained her staff on her.

"First of all…" Rita snarled menacingly. "You are in no position to tell me no."

* * *

Tommy had seen the red flash all the way from the side door of the museum, where he'd followed his girlfriend when she left the side of her movie star groupie. He'd watched in surprise as a white streak jumped up and ran off toward the park, and also watched as Kim fell to the sidewalk. He bounded down the six steps in one jump, crossed the small garden area, and reached her almost before the other two girls knew what had happened. Carri blinked twice in surprise as he seemingly appeared from nowhere and scooped her up; lifting her into his arms as if she weighed nothing.

"We should go get her mom." She said, wits snapping into place again. "Does anyone know if she ate anything today?"

"No wait." Tommy interrupted. He wanted to get her back to Zordon as fast as he could, but he couldn't just bolt off with her if Carri was there. "What was that thing?" He asked Aisha.

"A stray cat." She answered hesitantly, glancing at Carri and then holding up her hands as if baffled. "Kim freaked out, the cat ran away, and she feinted. She's said more than once she doesn't like cats. Maybe she's scared of them."

"But she said it wasn't a cat." Carri contradicted, looking uncertainly between the two. She'd always had pretty much of a photographic memory, it wasn't perfect, but she was pretty good at recording what she saw and heard and recalling it later. "Then there was a red flash of light and when I turned around, she feinted." She said definitely; she knew what she saw.

Aisha looked warily at Tommy. "I …I didn't see that." She said cautiously, catching his eyes. He nodded at her. He'd seen the red flash all the way from the gallery steps, but Carri was a civilian.

Carri looked back and forth between them, confusion and frustration knotting her forehead. Something wasn't right; they were both acting a little strange. "Look, she needs help. We need to get her mom, maybe she's diabetic or something."

As if in answer, Kim moaned and blinked several times, head turning and eyes trying to focus in on Tommy's blurred face.

"You ok Beautiful?" He crooned, dipping his forehead down to touch hers. It was said so softly and so sweetly that Aisha had to bite her lip to keep from smirking. Their fearless leader was turning out to be something of a fluff where the Alternate was concerned. Even Carri's eyes twinkled a bit in amusement and both girls quickly looked around for something interesting in the scenery.

"Oh my gosh!" Kim exclaimed as she realized where she was. "Tommy!" She cried out, throwing her arms tightly around his neck. He staggered back a few steps, surprised by the shift in her weight, but managed to keep both his balance and his grip on her. "It's happening all over again and I can't stop it!" She cried out in panic. "I won't let it happen." She wailed, bursting out into tears. "I'll do anything! I don't care!"

Stunned by her outburst, the other three looked back and forth between themselves; none really understanding what was going on. Tommy was honestly at a loss as to what to do. He didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but she was holding onto his neck for dear life and crying.

Kim didn't cry. Her predecessor had been prone to tears, but the Alternate was different. Her outburst scared him and for a moment he struggled with an explanation that would satisfy the non-Ranger present and let him whisk her away, but he was spared any further thought on the matter as his communicator chirped.

"What's that sound?" Carri asked, frowning. She'd heard it more than once around Kim and now the other two seemed to have the same chirping devices as well. "Some kind of new pager?"

"Yeah…" Tommy answered over Kim's soft sobs. "A..it's a pager of sorts. Look, I'm gonna take Kim for a little walk around the park." He said, nodding as if he thought that was a good enough answer. He bent down and tried to lower her to the ground, but she wasn't having any of it. She tightened her hold on his neck until he nearly choked and hung on for dear life as if she was completely terrified. To his consternation, his wrist communicator chirped again in the familiar tone they all knew meant they needed to answer right away. "Right…" He said more to himself than the girls as he picked her back up. Shifting her weight in his arms again, he repeated, "I'm just gonna take her for a walk and let her…uhm…right…"

"You're serious…" Carri said flatly, hand finding its way to her hip in irritation as Tommy turned and carried her away. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but taking a girl who had just feinted for a walk in the park was just stupid; there could be something seriously wrong with her. Kim was freaking out for some reason and it had to do with the cat Aisha found. She frowned, thinking hard. There had been something awfully familiar about that stray, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She wasn't exactly a cat person, they made her sneeze and turned her eyes red; that generally made her grouchy, so she avoided them.

"She'll be fine." Aisha interjected. "Tommy's right, she just needs some fresh air. Let's go set up the last of the chairs." She suggested, grabbing Carri's arm and steering her away.

"But she's already outside." Carri protested, looking back over her shoulder as Tommy half ran across the street to the park; Kim still firmly in his arms. "How much more air is she gonna get across the road?"

"Seriously, she'll be fine." Aisha said dismissively. "Now, should we set these up as an additional row along the side, or just make another back row?" She asked, handing Carri the two chairs she'd dropped earlier.

Carri stared at her for a full three seconds as if she thought the other girl was completely insane, then exhaled in frustration and rolled her eyes. "You guys are so weird." She muttered, grabbing the chairs and beginning a new row.

* * *

"Ai yi yi-yi-yi yi yi!" Alpha fretted as Tommy transported in with the still clinging Kimberly. "Tommy, put her on the medical table." He instructed.

Tommy did as he was told, noting that Billy and Rocky were also present and briefly wondering why they were in the Power Chamber instead of at the shelter with the kids. He laid his girlfriend down on the examination table, but Kimberly once again refused to let go of his neck.

"No!" She sobbed almost hysterically. "I'm not going to let it happen again!"

"Kimberly, please let go of Tommy." Alpha instructed patiently, trying to lower a glass hood over the pink Ranger, but Tommy's head was in the way and it bounced off him.

"Let what happen again?" He asked gently, forcefully prying her hands off his neck, but holding onto them with his own hands as he ducked out from under the plastic shield.

"I knew this was going to happen…." Kim wailed, tears pouring down her face. "I knew it, but I didn't know how to stop it…she can't have you." She sobbed. "It's not fair!"

"What's going on?" Rocky asked, moving towards them as Billy moved in to help Alpha. The two had transported back to check on one of Billy's experiments before boarding the bus over to the museum and he had also wanted to ask Zordon's permission for the red Ranger to make an appearance at the press conference.

"Man, I wish I knew." Tommy responded helplessly. "Aisha said she had a run-in with a cat and freaked out. There was more to it than that, I know it, but Carri was standing right there and Aisha couldn't say anything."

"It was no cat." Kim insisted mournfully, still tightly grasping Tommy's hand as if it was her only lifeline. "It was Katherine Hillard. Rita's captured her and put her under a spell."

"But why would Rita go after Carri's cousin?" He asked, looking up at his friends and then Zordon to see if anyone had an answer. Looking back down at Kim, who was calming down now that Alpha had begun to tranquilize her, he asked earnestly, "Kimberly what do you know that we don't? You said this happened on your world too?"

Kim looked up at him with such a helpless and pathetic look that his heart simultaneously sank and melted. "I'm not supposed to draw parallels from events on my world." She said miserably, tears pouring down the sides of her cheeks.

"Kim, what do you know?" He pressed, stroking her hand gently as Alpha worked. He didn't know what the robot was doing, but he suspected it had something to do with the odd flash of red light he'd seen. He prayed silently and fiercely to both his God and the Great Power itself that Zedd or Rita hadn't harmed her.

"On my world Katherine Hillard was captured by Rita and put under an evil spell." Kim answered despondently. "She turned her into a white cat that Aisha and I found in the park and took home with us. We named it PC, Park Cat, but it wasn't a cat at all. She was a spy and she ended up trying to kill me." She cried, the last few words dissolving in her throat and barely interpretable as she began sobbing in earnest again.

Tommy looked back up at Zordon, who remained silent above them, then turned to his friends. "If that cat was Katherine Hillard, then we need to rescue her from Rita and break the spell."

"No!" Kim wailed, weeping uncontrollably to the point where Alpha stopped his analysis and reset the controls to sedate her further. Kim eased back on the table and blinked sleepily, the room spinning and dissolving into brightly colored swimming fireflies of light.

"What's wrong Beautiful?" Tommy's voice floated through the colors. "Why shouldn't we save her? We need to know what happened on your world," He crooned. " Come on sweetheart, we need to know."

"You're going to rescue her and fall in love with her." Kim mumbled miserably, dizzy from the sedative and unable to stop the words from tumbling out or even differentiate between the Tommy in front of her and the Tommy she'd left behind on her world. "You've both been Rita's evil pawn, you can identify with each other. It's a common bond between you that no one else can share. You're going to leave me!" She cried.

"Aw Beautiful," His voice floated back to her. "That's not gonna happen, this is a completely different world."

"It's not fair." She moaned, hiccupping a little, then drifting off to sleep; the tears still streaming from her eyes.

Tommy watched his girlfriend for a few seconds as her muscles relaxed and the strong sedative took hold. He looked uncertainly at his friends, then stood and faced his mentor.

"Zordon, we have to get Katherine away from Rita." He said resolutely. Kim was right in one sense, he'd suffered through Rita's spells once before and wouldn't wish one on his worst enemy; well maybe his worst.

"I agree with you Tommy." Zordon answered calmly, speaking up for the first time. "However my sensors have indicated that Rita has once again taken the girl with her to the Lunar Palace. There is little you and the other Rangers can do until she makes another appearance on Earth."

"But Zordon, shouldn't we begin an analysis of the situation and initiate an investigation of possible restorations?" Billy asked, frowning a little. It wasn't as if he was really needed at the auction, he'd simply tagged along because it was a good cause.

"Alpha and I will conduct a detailed analysis of the situation." Zordon assured. "For now, please return to your usual Saturday afternoon activities."

"Shouldn't we wait for Kim?" Tommy asked, not exactly happy to be dismissed and leave her behind. Carri was going to corner him the moment he returned and he was a little worried she'd alert Kim's mom that something wasn't right.

"I have a few more tests I need to run on her." Alpha interjected. "As soon as they're finished, I'll wake her up and send her back too."

"Alright." Tommy answered uncertainly. He gave his sleeping girlfriend one long last look, then glanced at the others and nodded. "Come on guys." He said as he transported out.

But as the blue and white trails of light flew upward and out of the Power Chamber, Rocky remained behind. "Zordon?" He asked hesitantly, stepping forward and looking up at his mentor.

"Yes Rocky." Zordon answered patiently, looking down at him.

"Would it be ok if, maybe, the red Ranger showed up at the press conference?" He asked tentatively.

"And why would this be a necessary appearance?" His mentor asked.

"Oh, it's not. It's just that, well, Carri said having Zack Haruko there would draw the local media's attention to the shelter's charity auction; because he's a famous TV hero. But I thought maybe a real hero, like a Power Ranger showing up, maybe that would make bigger news and draw more people's attention…and the kids would really like it."

"I see no reason why the red Ranger should not make an appearance in support of the children's shelter." Zordon responded and Rocky grinned, a huge gush of air exhaling through his lungs.

"Thank you Zordon." He said, beaming and resisting the urge to jump around. He pinched a button on his communicator and transported out to meet the others.

In the now quiet Power Chamber, Alpha shuffled around the sleeping form of Kimberly and approached Zordon's Power Tube cautiously.

"Well Alpha? What have your scans revealed."

"Oh Zordon." Alpha said miserably, his voice wavering almost despondently. "I'm afraid that you were quite correct about Kimberly's condition."

"I was afraid of this." Zordon responded quietly.

"There are definitely Muirantian power cells present in the Alternate's body." Alpha confirmed, the sad tone still evident. "They have ceased their dormant phase and begun the mutation process of her mitochondria. I'm afraid they will overtake the cells in Kimberly's body within a few months… Ai yi yi, isn't there anything we can do?"

"I'm afraid not Alpha. Although this Kimberly managed to survive Kemora's possession, she was obviously not left unscathed. I will need to contact Thomas immediately."

"But Zordon, will she have to be…" He paused and looked at the girl's sleeping form hesitantly, then looked back at his master, "Will she need to be terminated?" He asked uneasily.

"You know as well as I do Alpha," Zordon answered gently, "That another Kemora cannot be let loose upon the universe."

"But Zordon, she's a pink Ranger, a force for good." Alpha argued in the sleeping girl's defense. It was a terrible waste, he rationed, they had already lost one pink Ranger's life uselessly; now another would have to be extinguished.

"So was Kemora when Maligore's pit turned her heart to evil." Zordon reminded him firmly.

"Oh my, what a terrible tragedy." Alpha fretted. "And just as she and Tommy were beginning to show such promise. What will become of our timeline now?"

"Do not fear for the Alternate just yet Alpha." Zordon advised. "The girl is still young. There is a chance we can yet utilize her developing affection for our Tommy as a means to keep her soul from corrupting. Remember, love is a very powerful force. If it could be channeled correctly, perhaps with guidance and training, she might overcome the innate tendencies of the demon spawn she is becoming and employ the power of the Muirantian pit on behalf of the forces of good; perhaps eventually against Kemora herself."

"Oh Zordon…I hope so." Alpha responded, worrying his metallic fingers together. "But if she can't be controlled?"

"Then you already know the answer to your question." He replied gravely.


	18. Chapter 18: A Pink Predicament

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 18: A Pink Predicament ….

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. All things Carri belong to KJ, with many thanks._

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**__._

* * *

Tommy breathed a huge sigh of relief as he watched the streak of pink light, Kimberly's transport signature, zoom past his position in the park. He hadn't been able to return to the others in case Carri asked where Kimberly had gone, so he'd simply occupied himself by practicing different forms next to the shallow pond that had become their special spot.

As he watched the light descend and fizzle out, he stopped mid technique and set off at a brisk jog towards the row of thick bushes he estimated she'd materialize behind. He wasn't sure why Alpha would keep her, but it worried him and he was anxious to have her back with him. Every sense in him screamed that he needed to protect her, but from what he didn't know and, if he was going to be honest with himself, he wasn't completely sure if it was a rational emotion at all or simply drawn from the insecurities of the past few days.

"Are you ok?" He asked in a worried voice, grabbing her in a huge bear hug of relief before she even realized that the transport was over.

"I'm so sorry." She gushed, wincing in embarrassment as he loosened his hold and lowered his forehead to meet hers. "I don't know what came over me. It was so stupid to act like that."

"It wasn't stupid at all." He reassured, squeezing her hands and wondering if was a good time to kiss her like he wanted to or if that would just make her more uncomfortable. In the end, he pulled her close and hugged her one more time, more to reassure himself that she was really ok than to reassure her, then kissed the top of her head quickly and stepped away; keeping hold of her hands. She'd scared the life out of him earlier and all he wanted to do was find a quiet place to whisk her off to, but they were expected back and he knew he had to squash the urge to keep her to himself.

"You've been under a lot of stress the past few weeks." He reasoned, one hand lifting to gently tuck her hair back behind her ear, then turning her and placing a protective arm around her as he guided them both back to where the others were waiting.

Rocky had already warned him that, after nearly twenty minutes holding her tongue, Carri was growing impatient with their insistence that Kimberly would be fine and pressing that they needed to tell her mom. Tommy wasn't sure how long they could put her off and began to seriously wonder if Kim's friendship with the girl was a good thing or not. She was sharp and detail oriented and putting her off with lame excuses didn't seem to fly with her.

"It's just that…" Kim started, then stopped and turned to face him; biting her lip in a worried gesture. "I mean, in my dream, the one I woke up from when Kemora left me…" She continued, referring to her past life on a different world as Zordon had instructed her to. She really didn't think anyone would bother listening in on her, but she did as she was told, and Tommy nodded that he understood what she was talking about. "In my dream things were so different and…"

"And you remember me breaking up with you for Katherine Hillard." He finished for her.

"In my dream we were never together." She answered firmly, eyes holding his and making sure he understood, but the worried look remained on her face and she stopped their forward movement to face him. "It never happened. You chose her first. Not her over me; her."

"Well in real life you and I ended up together." He said decisively, meeting her eyes with look that told her he wanted her to listen to what he was saying. "I'm not going anywhere Kimberly. This isn't a dream or an old memory of past Kimberlys from Kemora. This is you and me; right here, right now."

She regarded him cautiously, worrying her lip a little and allowing a small frown to knot her forehead. She wanted desperately to believe him, to listen to Zordon and Dulcea's advice and live her own destiny, but she had already lived this history and it wasn't an easy thing to simply disregard all the old hurts and anxieties as if they'd never happened.

The Tommy and Kat on her world had shared a common history of having both been Rita's pawns. Even though she'd been possessed by Kemora and understood the agony of having committed horrendous acts in the name of evil, she was still concerned that Tommy might identify more with the other girl's predicament than her own. There was also the fact that her Tommy had fallen in love with the pretty blond girl when he saved her; a rescue Kim knew was coming and was terrified of. Kat would be all too grateful for the release and, although she certainly didn't want to condemn the girl to a life as Rita's slave, she also didn't want to have to relive the looks of adoration and acts of gratefulness she knew Kat would bestow on her rescuer.

"I love you Kim." He said genuinely, although still not exactly comfortable with the saying the actual words yet. "I'm not going to simply forget about that."

"Even though you're mad at me?" She asked with a plaintive look, desperately wanting to believe him.

"I'm not mad at you." He answered, although he knew that wasn't completely true. It was complicated. He wasn't exactly angry, just really frustrated and more than a little jealous of the famous TV hero shadowing her.

Jealousy was a new emotion for him. Usually, if a girl gave him trouble, he simply broke things off and went on with his life. But this time he didn't want to break things off. He wanted things to work out so badly that he was in knots simply over the uncertainty of it all.

This was the first time in his life, other than when he was under Rita's spell, where he couldn't control things; couldn't manage his own destiny. He couldn't make her do what he wanted on his timeline and, even though the rational side of him knew that was exactly right and as it should be, the fact that his emotions were at the complete and total mercy of a female terrified him. His heart was being navigated by someone other than himself and the lack of control was as aggravating as it was intoxicating.

Even at almost sixteen, Tommy wasn't one to waste his time and effort. He had a keen sense of what needed to be done, the right direction to go, and the tenacity, and often dumb luck, to pull it off. His instincts were uncannily good and every instinct in him told him that he needed to be with the little girl in front of him. She made him feel like he'd never felt before. A whole array of emotions that inebriated him and sent his spirit soaring. Most of all, when he was with her, he felt that he had found another like mind, a kindred spirit, someone like himself; and that was the crux of another very big problem.

Even though he had been well taken care of all his life, he floundered with the concept of who and what he was and where he came from. He had always known that he was adopted; that never bothered him. He loved his mom dearly and, even though they seldom saw eye to eye as he grew older, he also loved his dad. It was simply the prevailing feeling that he was out of place; that he wasn't exactly where he belonged.

He would always consider his mom to be his mother, but he wanted to know where he'd come from; where is blood relatives were. His mom had promised him that, once he turned eighteen, they'd start looking for his birth family, but what she didn't know was that he'd already utilized Zordon's computers to start…and promptly slammed into a very unexpected brick wall. He apparently didn't come from anywhere and this left far more questions and insecurities in him than he'd had at the start.

He was different; however slightly. The biggest difference was that he knew things without really knowing how he knew things. His mom called it a strong gut instinct, which was a good enough explanation, but this same gut instinct happened to always be right. Always.

It served him really well as a Ranger, allowing him to pull off feats that left the others shaking their heads and wondering how he'd done it, but it just wasn't normal for a fifteen, almost sixteen, year old boy to be that good at what he did. There was also the problem that, while he was great at being a Ranger and dealing with intergalactic threats, he was a little uncomfortable simply trying to be a normal kid; not that it stopped him from being popular or having friends.

Even before he'd become a Ranger, while his peers were preoccupied with television shows and video games, he was obsessed with perfecting his fighting techniques and honing his comprehension of strategy. While others fretted over their social standing in school and what they were wearing, he fretted over his whether his financial affairs were in a good position to see him through college and catapult him into a comfortable position in adulthood. It was weird. He wasn't brainy enough for the geeks, but he was too mature for the jocks. He was cute enough to be popular, but not tolerant enough of the popular crowd's antics to run with them.

While it pleased him that his parents were very proud of his maturity and ability to focus, and while it had even earned him several compliments from Zordon, it sometimes bugged him when his peers noticed he was far more interested in earning early college credits so he could graduate early than in joining the varsity teams. His wasn't the narrow and almost blind tunnel vision of a youth, he saw the broad picture of a complicated universe; always.

For the most part, he ignored the uncomfortable feeling that he didn't quite belong among the strict popularity categories of his peers, but it also instilled a persistent insecurity in him. He wanted to know why he felt the way he did; what made him tick and if his birth family was the same way. The feeling had lifted a bit when he joined the Rangers and found a place where he excelled and his skills were appreciated for what they were, but the sense of being alone and separate had remained; until the Alternate had showed up. Around Kim, he didn't feel alone anymore.

Ever since the Alternate Kimberly had arrived, and especially since they had gotten together, he had felt a sense of peace in that area; as if he'd finally found someone he belonged with. He treasured that feeling and treasured the girl who inspired it even more, but the feeling itself was precarious at best. It was completely dependent on the will of another and he now found himself experiencing a whole new set of insecurities he'd never contemplated before.

He knew, just as he always knew, that this was a girl he could love for always. She was safe to share everything with, to grow up with, to build a life with, maybe someday create a family with; his own flesh and blood. He wanted it more than he'd ever wanted anything in his young life and, with the impatience of youth, he wanted it now.

Convincing her of his long term visions and gaining her promise that she was also thinking in terms of forever had proved a little trickier than he'd expected. Far from embracing the certainty of his declared feelings and plans for the future, he'd overwhelmed her with his exuberance. He hadn't managed to reassure her at all, but instead intimidated and frightened her and that frustrated him beyond measure. He was used to running with his gut head on, not hand-holding and reassuring another that he was right and convincing her to trust him.

It baffled him why his enthusiasm for their union upset her and he was mystified why she wanted more time to digest everything before resuming the more physical side to their relationship. In his mind, they were married; it was destiny. He didn't care that they'd been tricked into it or the circumstances over how it had come about. It had happened and that was that. Besides, even under the circumstances, the last time they'd been together physically had been the most fascinating and incredible experience of his life. It wasn't a fast tumble while no one was watching or with someone he could care less about, it had been…incredible. He wanted it again and was frustrated beyond reasoning that she chose to be shy about it. He understood, sort of, but he was still unbearably aggravated by it all.

"I love you Kim." He said again earnestly, genuinely wanting her to know the depth of his feeling. "I swear I don't have any interest at all in Katherine Hillard other than to save her from Zedd and Rita; I never have. You're the only one I want to be with."

"Even if I can't make up my mind about…you know." She asked uncertainly, looking away and blushing a little.

"About Zack Haruko?" He spat back, jealousy causing it to come out just a little more harshly than he intended. The fact that she could even consider allowing another boy to flirt with her enraged him and he couldn't quite keep that anger from bubbling through.

"Huh?" She asked, and he relaxed a little by the genuine look of confusion in her eyes. "What does Zack have to…you mean not telling you about the auction? I'm sorry Tommy, I really am. I just didn't know how you guys would react."

"It's not the auction." He answered grumpily, stepping away from her slightly.

"Then what?" She asked, stomach twisting. She was afraid it was because she'd been saying no to his advances. It wasn't that she didn't want to, after all, according to the Intergalactic Community they were technically married and had already consummated the union. It was that she felt a bit odd that they had to sneak around to do it. If it was really ok, then why did they have to hide it and pretend it wasn't happening?

"Zack." Tommy returned angrily as if it was obvious.

"Why Zack?" She asked, baffled. It wasn't as if she was attracted to the TV star or anything. "I thought we already talked about this. He's just a friend of Carri' brother."

"He's totally coming on to you." Tommy fired back, frustrations pouring out despite his effort to curb them. "And you're just….letting him."

"He's doing us a favor." Kim answered, defending herself. "Carri says he's spoiled and can be temperamental sometimes and that we need to be nice to him."

"You don't have to be that nice." He fired back.

"I'm not!" She returned defensively. "Tommy, he's way older than I am and more than a little full of himself."

"And yet you giggle at his lame jokes and bat your eyes at him." He pouted childishly, not quite willing to give up his anger.

"I was not batting my eyes." She insisted. "I don't even know how you go about batting eyes. I was being nice to someone who went way out of his way to help a friend of his friend's little sister. He didn't have to come in early and do as much as he's done…nobody else did."

"Oh I'm sure it's just so hard to try and be nice to a super hero mega star." He muttered sourly.

"As a matter of fact, sometimes yes." She fired back, her own anger kicking in. "Tommy, I haven't got a clue who he is. I've never heard of his show. He acts all important like he's really saved the world a thousand times instead of just pretending to…and the way girls act around him…it's just so silly."

Tommy blinked several times as she talked, digesting what she was saying and allowing the bulk of his ire to slide away from him. "So you're not interested in mister 'I have more mouse in my hair than a girl' TV wonder boy?"

"No." She answered firmly, grinning a little at his description. She stepped closer, allowing their bodies to touch, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "My concept of a wonder boy is slightly different." She added, not realizing how seductive she was being.

"Really…" He asked breathily, stunned by the depth of emotions she'd enticed in him in just that one simple movement. He was literally shaking and it took all his self control not to grab her and demand more than he knew she was willing to give. Instead, he allowed his hands to gently slide around her and pull her closer.

"Let's just say I know who my real hero is." She answered mischievously, pressing into him and causing him to catch his breath.

She was still completely unaware of how her inviting her actions were, but at the same time she was beginning to realize that the movement and words were diffusing his angst; so she filed them away for later. On impulse, she stretched upward and kissed him softly, squealing as he gave up his control and deepened the kiss passionately; crushing her to him with a strength that both stunned and thrilled her.

"So this is where you guys ran off to." Carri's voice interrupted. Startled, Kim jumped backward and Tommy looked up to see Carri tapping her foot impatiently and a very apologetic looking Rocky trotting up behind her. "You're mom's looking everywhere for you." She added, looking directly at Kim.

"Uhm…we…uhm…" Kim stuttered, straightening the shirt Tommy had managed to scrunch up higher than she felt was acceptable.

"Yeah, whatever." The other girl answered, waving her hand dismissively. "The press event starts in ten minutes, you two think you can pry your lips apart long enough to help out?"

Tommy gave her an annoyed look, but Kim simply giggled and blushed. She turned and gave him a look that twinkled mischievously and diffused the last his angst once and for all, then grabbed his hand and pulled him back toward the museum. All he could do was grin like an idiot behind her and follow.

* * *

From up above, on a high tree limb looking over the scene, sat a serene looking white cat; twitching tail the only evidence that it was in any way agitated by what it had witnessed. As the teens left, it climbed down the trunk, landing delicately on the ground below, and morphed back into the human form of Katherine Hillard.

Rita had intensified her spell and her pretty blue eyes flashed angrily as she watched the teens retreat; chin jutting defiantly. "Not interested at all in Kat Hillard are you Tommy?" She spat. "Well, let's see how interested you become when I take your precious little Kimberly from you."

* * *

"Hey, where are you running off to?" Carri asked as Rocky tried to slip away from the group milling around backstage. "Things are just getting started." She added, nodding her head toward the small crews of photographers, reporters, and television cameras, as well as an impressive horde of screaming female fans, who had come out to see Zack Haruko endorse an auction to help homeless children.

"I uh…forgot my camera inside the break room." He responded. "I want to get a picture with Zack."

"Oh." She answered, turning back around to watch the crowd as if uninterested. "Ok."

Rocky breathed a sigh of relief that she'd accepted his excuse; she was usually quick to point out the obvious flaws… like the museum hadn't let them use the break room. He turned and walked away in what he hoped was a casual air, then turned the corner and broke into a fast jog toward a safe place to morph.

"He really likes you, you know." Kim said, coming up from behind and sitting down on the side steps of the stage next to Carri.

"You think?" Carri asked; frowning a little, but also looking more than a little pleased with the information. "I can't tell with that one." She added, frowning a little deeper and turning around to scan the empty path he'd taken. "Sometimes I think he does, but then others…"

"Oh no, he likes you." Kim confirmed, nodding her head and eyes twinkling. "He's been trying all week to get up the courage to ask you to the Valentine's Dance for Freshmen and Sophomores; Tommy said so."

"So that's what's been doing." The other girl responded, as if the statement had answered some burning, unspoken question.

"What did you think?" Kim asked in return.

"I honestly wasn't sure. I thought maybe he was off his medicine or something." She commented wryly. "Or maybe auditioning for one of my dad's comedies."

"No." Kim answered with a grin. "Just really nervous you'd say no or that you'd say you were going with someone else."

"I am. I mean, I'm currently supposed to go with someone else." Carri confirmed, turning to face her friend.

"Oh." Kim answered, more than a little disappointment seeping through the word. Rocky was going to be really disappointed. Tommy had told her that he and Adam had been building up his failing confidence for days.

"I had like four offers a half an hour after the date was announced." Carri rationalized, somehow feeling the need to justify herself. "I mean, I was the Captain of the Junior Varsity Stone Canyon Cheerleading Team and Junior Captain of the Varsity Team." She continued. "Just because you… uhm…just because the Angel Grove Team eliminated me from the tryouts for this year's team when we merged doesn't mean I'm still not popular with the other redistricted students. I have my own group I still hang out with sometimes."

"I'll tell Tommy." Kim said quietly, nodding and looking away towards the growing crowd. "He can tell Rocky not to ask you."

"No, don't do that." The other girl protested, reaching her hand out to touch her arm.

"Why? So he can ask you and just get disappointed you that you turn him down?" Kim objected. That wasn't very nice at all in her book and she was a little offended her new friend would crush a fellow Ranger's feeling just to get an ego boost out of being able to turn another boy away.

"No…no, it's not that. I'd rather go with Rocky…if he can ever get up the nerve to ask." She explained. Then, at Kim's confused look, she added. "Look, I didn't know Rocky wanted to ask me or I would've asked him myself. I only agreed to go with Chad because he was the best option of the lot that offered to take me and I really wanted to go to this thing."

"But if you change your mind and go with Rocky, won't Chad be upset that you don't go with him?" Kim asked, frowning deeper as Carri sniffed in a dismissive sound.

"Trust me, Chad Hayworth will have another date in about 20 seconds. He only asked me because he wants to get an 'in' with the guy casting my dad's new show….he fancies himself an aspiring actor as well as a football player." She snorted. "Trust me, he'll be totally fine with it; especially if I get him an audition and don't spread it around that I called off the date instead of him. No…I'd much rather go out with someone who actually wants to take me instead of going out with me only to get close to my dad. Besides, Rocky's a baseball player…I like baseball players." She announced saucily, giving Kim a mischievous look. "Tell him to ask, but quit stalling or I might not be available."

Kim grinned in return, but the conversation was cut short as Zack was announced and came running on stage to a crowd of screaming girls and children. He held out his hands, waved, saluted and smiled, and then grabbed the microphone and launched into a well rehearsed, crowd rousing speech.

Carri rolled her eyes when Kim commented how good he sounded, but her own comment was cut short as a streak of red light arched across the crowd and the Red Power Ranger materialized next to him. The crowd and news media went crazy and Kim could only gape as openly as her friend as the two watched the scene unfold.

"Oh my god…" Carri gasped and Kim could only nod numbly, eyes searching frantically for Tommy and the others who she found standing not far away on the sidelines, equally stunned. "Oh my god!" Carri yelled. "It's a real Power Ranger!"

Before Kim could formulate any kind of a response, the other girl jumped up and ran at full speed, not on stage like Kim expected, but back towards the parking lot. Kim watched her with a confused look, barely registering as the other Rangers made their way to her position on the steps.

"What's he doing?" Aisha asked.

"I…uhm… I guess he's helping the auction." Kim answered helplessly, still watching Carri's form tear across the open grass toward the parked cars.

"Where's she going?" Tommy asked, following his girlfriend's gaze. Kim responded by shrugging and giving him a baffled look.

-

* * *

"What are those little Power Brats up to now?" Rita wondered out loud, taking a closer look through her telescope. "The Red Ranger making public appearances? Since when does Zordon loan his little goodie-goods out for public display?"

"Some sort of homeless thing my cousin's helping precious Kimberly with." Kat muttered irritably. Rita turned to regard her, grinning as the blond sniffed in distain and continued to file her nails. "It's really pathetic what that little pink tramp will do to get a little attention."

"Well then," Rita cackled. "Maybe we should send a little rain down on her parade."

"What do you have in mind?" Kat asked, pausing the manicure of her nails to look up and regard the old witch curiously.

"I think it's time we trapped ourselves a little pink pigeon." Rita answered with a wicked grin.

* * *

Rocky watched with more than a little regret as Carri leapt off the stage steps and ran in the opposite direction. That hadn't been what he was going for at all. It wasn't as if he'd made the appearance just to impress her, he really wanted to help out and he knew he'd never be able to tell her about it, but part of him also kind of wanted to see her give him the same awe inspired reaction his uniform produced in other girls; to see her get excited at seeing him.

Swallowing his disappointment and reminding himself firmly that he was there for the kids, he shook Zack's hand and the hands of the auction coordinators, then launched into a quick speech about what a worthy cause the auction was. But before he was three quarters through the short dialogue, Carri reappeared, bursting on stage at full run and thrusting a medium sized, gold metallic painted canvass at him.

"What's this for?" He asked in confusion, startled and taken aback. He'd seen half a dozen of those same canvases laying around the day before, but they'd been reserved for her dad's actors.

"Handprint…" Carri gasped, lungs heaving for air. She had to double over at that point; hands on her knees. She was in good shape, but she'd pressed her limits.

She'd run as fast as she could all the way to the van where they'd stored the canvases. There had been several stars that hadn't made it over to her dad's offices, but she had brought the prepped frames with her anyway just in case anyone else showed up or they could use them somehow. Unfortunately, the van had been locked and she'd had to turn and race inside, find the keys, and race back, throwing all kinds of junk aside until she found a big one she could use. She had no idea how long the Ranger would hang around, but everyone knew they didn't stay in one place for very long, so she'd swallowed the burning pain in her chest and put everything she'd had into charging back onto the stage.

"Handprint…for the kids" She managed, nearly passing out as her lungs rebelled from the frantic activity.

"You want my handprint?" Rocky asked from behind his helmet. It had never occurred to him that she'd ask him that; he was a Ranger, not a movie star. He hesitated, unsure what to do, he hadn't asked Zordon about giving a handprint; just showing up to lend support.

"Or glove print…don't care…" Carri managed, standing back up but still gulping in air. She took out a tube of red acrylic paint from a supply box she'd also grabbed and shoved it at him.

"What do I do with this?" He asked.

"I couldn't find a plate." She managed, air finally flowing a little easier, "Just…oh hell…" She muttered, grabbing the tube back and dropping the supply box to the stage floor.

Too focused on getting a handprint for the auction to really contemplate the audacity of what she was doing, she shoved the gold canvass into Zack's chest, forcing him to either grab it or drop it, and grabbed the red Ranger's glove, squeezing a good amount of red paint into the white leather palm, then used her fingers to spread it around and over the fingers.

Rocky was too stunned to protest. Usually civilians, especially teenage girls, would get rather inhibited and silly around him; no one had ever dared to come right out and touch him, let alone grab his wrist in an iron lock and spread paint all over his glove. The crowd was equally stunned into silence, although the cameras continued to flash eagerly.

"Put your print there." She instructed, repositioning the canvass in Zack's hands.

"I…uhm…I'm not sure…" Rocky protested, not quite certain what to do.

"I think it's a great idea." Tommy's voice interrupted, and the crowd went wild as five more morphed Rangers appeared on the stage. "Anything to help the kids." He added, one hand slapping Rocky on the back good naturedly.

"In that case…" Carri jumped forward, "Let's get the whole team." She added, digging through the box of paints to hand each of the Ranger's their corresponding colors. It dawned on her about then just how presumptuous she was being and she began to tremble a bit with adrenaline, but if any of the Rangers noticed, they didn't say anything. "And your names." She added, plowing into the plastic box one more time in a hurried effort to find the Sharpie they'd had the actors use to autograph their prints.

"Excuse me?" Tommy asked from beneath his white helmet. He had just added his white print next to Rocky's and was allowing Kim's mom to remove the paint from his glove with a box of hastily procured baby wipes and paper towels.

"Everyone signs their names." Carri answered back, a little stunned that she could get so much authority in her voice considering how badly she was shaking inside. She stood and held out the black marker she'd finally managed to locate. "Please…" She added, looking squarely at the gold and white helmet into what she hoped were the Ranger's eyes. She'd been directing her dad's actors to do the same thing all week; but that wasn't quite the same thing as directing a Power Ranger and her stomach rebelled and flip flopped as she faced him.

Tommy regarded the black marker in her hand for so long that the audience quieted into silence and her outstretched arm began to tremble. Wordlessly, he took the pen from her, then turned and scratched something on the canvas beside his print. The others hesitated, then grinned from behind their visors as they stepped forward to see what he'd written. There on the canvas, in bold characters, was written: "The White Ranger"…in Eltaran. Silently, the others followed suit, grinning as they each added their glove prints and titles in Zordon's home language.

Kim's mother had stepped forward and was systematically cleaning each of their gloves of the paint in between leaving their prints and signing and Kim found herself hanging back a little; shy and uncomfortable about being morphed in front of her. It was silly really. The microphones and speakers inside the helmets altered their voices, but she still couldn't help worrying that her mother would somehow recognize her.

"You're next." Tommy urged as Aisha stepped back. When she still didn't move forward, he stepped closer and put an arm about her waist, gently urging her forward while still being careful not to get any leftover paint on her uniform. Tentatively, she held out her gloved hand for Carri to spread paint on, then quietly stepped past her mother to where Zack was holding the small canvas.

But there was a problem. Aisha's yellow print was too far off to one side of the boy's signatures and their wasn't enough quite enough room for her print. Not wanting to speak for fear of her mother overhearing her, she turned around and gave Tommy a confused shrug. Not understanding, he stepped forward again, placing the audio sensors of his helmet close to her helmet's speakers.

"What's wrong?" He asked, leaning in and placing his arms gently around her without even realizing what an endearing pose they'd assumed. The effect on the crowd was instantaneous and the flashbulbs of the cameras exploded in an effort to capture the obvious affection being openly displayed between the two Rangers. "What's wrong?" Tommy repeated again.

"There's no room." She whispered, turning in his arms and opening her hands in a helpless gesture.

Tommy looked down at the canvass and immediately realized the problem. It had been spur of the moment and ill planned on their part. He and Rocky had started the prints too far over to one side and between the five prints and five signatures, written in bold Eltaran characters, there wasn't room for Kim's print and signature.

"Here," He said, turning her around again.

He took her hand, guided the paint covered glove back to the canvass, lined it up with his own print, and pressed it down. The effect was to leave a small pink glove print with the fingers overlapping the palm of the white one from the side. She blushed a little at the implied meaning, her hand in his, then stepped back to allow her mom to clean the paint off her palm. Taking the Sharpie from Carri, she added her own title in small Eltaran characters beneath her print, then turned, giving the ecstatic crowd a small wave, and gratefully transported out with the others.

* * *

"Oh my god…" Zack declared, as he carried the canvass off stage a few minutes later; a shaking Carri following closely behind. "You've got balls kiddo, I'll give you that." He declared, looking back over his shoulder at her as he handed the canvass over to the team of security guards, then ungracefully dropped to sit on the side steps of the stage until someone gave him his cue again.

"Did that really just happen?" Carri breathed incredulously, allowing her knees to finally buckle beneath her as she collapsed a few steps below him where she'd been sitting before.

"It happened alright." Kim's mother said from behind her, kneeling down to place two firm but gentle hands on the girl's shoulders. "You're a genius Carri, you know that? I would never have thought of it." She praised. Looking up to see her daughter approaching, she added, "Kimberly, did you know the Rangers were coming?" She asked. Taken aback, Kim simply shook her head numbly in response as the others filed into the small backstage area behind her. "Well, it appears they're still keeping tabs on you if they knew to show up today. Good job girls, the auction price of that canvass alone could very well support the shelter for years to come." She declared. Standing, she turned and walked back on stage to lend her presence to the museum director's enthusiastic words about the auction to be held the next day.

"Good job Carri." Kim said with a grin; sitting down next to her friend on the steps.

"I can't believe that actually just happened." Carri marveled, still in shock.

"Only you would order the Power Rangers around Car." Zack said sardonically, stretching out his legs a little too casually so that that Kim's boyfriend wouldn't be able to sit next to her when he moved to do so. Tommy stopped and gave the idol a measuring look, then backed down the steps and contented himself with leaning against the railing of the side partition hiding them from the crowd.

"Did you tell them to come?" Carri asked, turning and looking directly at Kim, who shook her head firmly no. "Then how did they know to show up today? Do you really think they're still checking up on you like your mom said?"

"I don't know." Kim answered hesitantly. "If I could guess, I'd say that maybe the red Ranger heard about it somehow and acted on his own. Then maybe the others thought it was a good idea and followed."

"But why would they do that?" Carri pressed. "It's not like this was a huge media event or a big shelter or anything. Our only real draw was Zack."

"Maybe they tend to run in a pack." Kim offered, referring to the way Carri had noticed she and the Rangers were always together.

"Oh my god…" Carri moaned, as the magnitude of the last few moments overtook her. "I just got the handprints and signatures of the Power Rangers!" She squealed, hands coming up to either side of her face in amazement.

"You always did have to be the center of attention." A familiar accented voice interrupted.

"Kat?" Carri asked as the others warily parted to allow the young blond to saunter forward. Kim shot Tommy an alarmed look, but there was little she or any of them could do with Zack and Carri seated on the steps next to her. "What are you doing here? Carri continued. "Mom's in a total snit that you ran off and didn't tell anyone where you were going…and where's my car?"

"Let's just say I'm taking charge of my life the same way you took charge of yours." Kat purred nastily.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Carri demanded, temper rising.

"You really should choose your friends more carefully." Kat chided cryptically.

Before Carri could respond, her cousin raised a crystal vile that seemed to appear from nowhere. Tilting it on its side, a pink liquid drained to the ground below, immediately enveloping the teens in thick acrid clouds of dark pink smoke. When the billowing miasma dissipated, Kat was gone; but so were Kim, Carri, and Zack Haruko.


	19. Chapter 19: The Power of Pink

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 19: The power of Pink ….

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. All things Carri belong to KJ, with many thanks._

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**__._

* * *

Author's note:

First and foremost, let me apologize for the amount of typos I probably missed. I was far busier than I thought I'd be and that left me not only less time to write, but far more tired when I was writing and editing. Unfortunately, if I don't post this tonight, it will be another week before I can get back to it. Still, I hope you enjoy the chapter and I promise to go back and clean it up later.

* * *

Kim woke to the feeling of spinning disorientation in her head and a churning sickness in her stomach. She was lying face down and very much aware of an icy cold dampness surrounding her.

"Kimberly, you need to wake up." A voice just beyond her pressed.

She knew that voice, it was very familiar and she had the feeling it had been saying the same thing to her for quite a while. Painfully, she forced her eyes to open a crack, then groaned and closed them again.

"Kimberly, you need to wake up." The voice urged again.

Kim frowned, it was her own voice. She wondered vaguely how her own voice could

be talking to her; unless she was dreaming. Forcing her eyes to open, she lifted her head to see the swirling mists of one of Zedd's dungeons. Blinking the last of the fuzziness from her mind, she forced her aching body into a sitting position and her eyes to focus on where she was.

She was in a barred cell, the dim light of several candles barely illuminating more than a few feet beyond the bars. Raising her head up a little higher, she could see two bodies in another enclosed cell not too far away. They were laying on the floor beneath the swirling fog and after blinking several times in an effort to force her eyes to focus, she was simultaneously relieved and dismayed to identify them as Carri and Zack.

"Wake up!" The voice scolded her more urgently.

"I'm awake." Kim moaned, blinking her eyes tightly several times just to make sure.

"Oh." The voice answered contritely. "Sorry, I couldn't tell."

That was just too weird, Kim thought. Shaking her head to try and clear the fog between her ears. Why would her own voice be apologizing to her, she wondered. Groaning loudly at the pain and stiffness in her limbs, she forced herself into a sitting position.

"Quiet!" The voice fussed again. "They'll know you're awake and we'll lose more time."

Kim frowned deeply in confusion and sat up a little straighter. Moving her eyes away from Zack and Carri, she turned her head around to both sides of the cell and behind her to see where the voice was coming from. But aside from the swirling mists, there was nothing else in the cell with her. Standing up carefully in case the whirling in her head caused her to lose her balance, she again turned her body around, but nothing was there.

"I'm right here." The voice said off to one side and Kim jerked around to her left, straight into the ghostly outline of the dead Kimberly she had replaced.

"What?" She yipped in surprised. "How did you get in here?" She asked, just a little bit of fright edging her voice. "Am I dead?" She asked the ghost uncertainly. If the ghost had returned to Zedd's palace, did that mean she hadn't found peace at all but returned to the temptations of the evil realm?

"Not yet." The image answered pertly. She was still wearing her pink jumpsuit and white leotard and her hair cascaded around her in dark caramel ringlets which glowed as they bobbed in rhythm with her movements. In fact, aside from a slight glowy look surrounding her shape and trailing after her movements, she looked more solid and real than Kim had ever seen her; which made her wonder once again if she herself was dead.

"Then how come I can see you so well." Kim asked uncertainly, forehead knotting. She never liked the ghost of the other Kimberly much; maybe because it had tried to kill her so many times.

"I dunno." The ghost replied impatiently, then at Kim's near panicked expression added, "Look, I'm not really sure I understand it all myself. It has something to do with the way Zordon reprogrammed your energies to look like mine and using my power coin, and the fact that you crossed the spirit line a few times during the whole Kemora thing…all combined with some sort of built in talent you have for reading energy signals….I dunno, it gives me a headache just thinking about it." She said with a huff, curls bobbing as she tossed them back with an annoyed ghostly hand.

"Ghost get headaches?" Kim asked hesitantly, not entirely sure she believed the conversation she was having.

"Sort of…" The other girl replied, "We get all frustrated and …icky feeling. Look, we don't have much time, we need to get you out of here before Rita gets back. She's setting up some sort of machine to read your energy signatures. I think she's on to the fact that you're not me…and if that happens we're both in a lot of trouble."

"Why would we both be in trouble?" Kim asked, not moving. She still felt as if she was half asleep. The cell was dark and damp and the glowing candlelight off the fog seemed to lull her back to sleep even as she stood there.

"Because…" The ghost answered in an agitated manner, either caught off guard or not sure how to answer. "Well because then I don't get to see what happens to mom and Michael and all my friends." She added testily; although Kim really didn't believe her.

"I thought you supposedly went on to the other side." Kim replied warily. "Aren't you supposed to be in heaven or something?" She asked. It was too confusing. Her stomach felt sick and her head was pounding. The room seemed to tilt on its axis and she wondered if she was really still dreaming it all.

"Rangers don't really go to…I…it…I mean…" The image stammered. "It's complicated." She admitted with a little wince. "If you want to get simple about it, we sort of go on and continue Rangering on the other side of things."

"I need to sit down." Kim answered with a groan, starting to sink back down to the floor of the cell and thinking what she really needed to do was throw up. Her stomach rolled and her head spun and she seriously wondered if she was going to feint.

"No!" The ghost exclaimed, bending out to her as if to hold her elbow and prevent her from sitting. Kim shivered violently as an icy cold shot through her arm and shoulder and the ghost retracted the hand quickly. "Sorry," She added with another deep wince. "I keep forgetting I'm not supposed to do that. All it does it drain your energy. I'm still really new at this."

"I don't understand any of it." Kim groaned miserably, plunking down with a heavy thud. She brought her knees into to chest and laid her forehead down on them, thinking she was definitely going to throw up and swallowing hard to keep the bile from rising up from her throat.

"Oh come on…" The ghost prodded, kneeling down next to her. "You're way stronger than I ever was, don't give up now. You've got to fight the effects of the gas and get yourself out of here before Rita gets back. You fought off Kemora, what's a little poison gas inflicted by an angry Australian?" She asked. The whole thing came out a little too perky or over-encouragingly, as if she were practicing a pep talk for the Pan Games, and in response Kim looked up at her with a pained expression.

"Why are you here?" Kim asked despairingly, raising her head up from her knees and looking the image straight in the eyes. The face of the image was only a few inches from hers and on close inspection, she realized the other girl's eyes really didn't look much like eyes at all. They were still brown and still moved as if looking around, but it was as if the energy and personality that would normally radiate from behind them was dispersed throughout the whole image instead of focused solely through her gaze. It wasn't exactly creepy, just odd.

"I'm not quite finished." The girl said hesitantly, appearing to sit back on her heels and looking as if she really didn't want to explain things. "I've got a few things I have to sort of make up for."

"Are you serious?" Kim asked sardonically, frown deepening. "You were only fifteen when you died. How bad could you have been?"

"Well, I mean it's all good in the end…I mean," The spirit backtracked, "I mean it's not like I'm barred from anywhere or anything. There's just some stuff I want to do and learn, you know, further myself so to speak, and I can't do it until I clean up some things back here…sort of."

"So you're going to haunt me until you finish these things?" Kim asked, a slight panic building in her.

"Haunting is such a creepy word." The ghost answered dismissively, waving her hand in a sort of blurry glow. "I mean, seriously… why can't people just say 'hang around for a while' or 'visit ' or 'stay behind'…you know…"

"Seriously." Kim repeated in a deadpan voice, feeling for the first time like she might actually be awake and not really liking that feeling. "You're going to hang around?"

"Is that so bad?" The other girl returned, an overly innocent look on her face. "I mean, honestly, you did kinda just walk in and take over my former life without even asking. You don't think you could share a little of that whole living experience thing?"

"It depends on how much you want to share in." Kim answered, horrified by what she was learning. Memories of the last time the specter had haunted her bubbled up to the surface of her mind; nearly causing her to panic outright.

In response, the image of the other girl stood up and waved a dismissive hand. "It'll be fine, honestly, I won't intrude a bit. It's your life and I like totally get that I'm only supposed to guide, not live it for you. And I can help…" The specter encouraged. "You like totally just almost died from that gas a moment ago and I kept you from going so fast asleep you like never woke up again or anything and…"

The other girl stopped as Kim raised her hand. "Do I get any say in this?"

"Well, I'm also supposed to help Michael and my mom and my dad and grandma and a few other people, but none of them can see or hear me." The ghost confessed.

"So it's just me that you get to actually converse with?" Kim asked scathingly.

"Yeah, isn't that great?" The ghost answered enthusiastically. "Most guides never get to actually talk, it's such a pain in the rear…all that prodding and nudging and tweaking the conscious nonsense…I get to actually tell you stuff and you can hear me; that almost never happens. Everyone keeps telling me how lucky I am, but I've always been really lucky…until I died I mean."

"Maybe we should start with you telling me how to get out of this cell and rescue the others." Kim suggested calmly, head pounding loudly between her ears.

"Oh." The ghost answered, turning her head and glancing at Carri and Zack. "Right…I kinda forgot about them."

* * *

"Zordon, we can't wait. We've got to get her back." Tommy pleaded, heart pounding so loudly in his chest that he almost couldn't stand it. Kim was gone and he couldn't get to her. The thought panicked him more than anything else in his entire life. It was his worst nightmare and fear all rolled into one and his body literally shook with poorly concealed emotion.

They had all been blinded and choked by the gas, but the fumes of acrid smoke hadn't been nearly as painful as realizing that Katherine had taken Kimberly. Katherine's cousin Carri and Zack Haruko were also missing, but Tommy barely registered that fact; his mind was completely focused on the Alternate.

Too much time was passing without them springing into action and that frustrated him to no end. As the smoke left by Katherine's pink vile had spread, things at the press conference had come to a chaotic stop. Fearing the stage had caught fire, the crowd had run for cover and, in the confusion of running people and fire engines, they had all slipped away to the Command Center, but nearly an hour had gone by while they tried to figure out exactly where their teammate had been taken and he knew Kim's mom would begin to panic if her daughter didn't show up soon. Billy now had a vague trace on the energy signal of her power coin, but Zordon was holding them back until he could determine if she was still in possession of it or not. He didn't want them charging into a trap set by Zedd.

"Someone want to fill me in on what's going on?" Jason asked, looking around the room of new Rangers and then back at Tommy.

As the former red Ranger and commander of the team, Jason Scott knew all too well the panic that a leader felt when a team member went missing. What he didn't understand was the other stuff that was going on with his friend. He knew Tommy well, thought of him as more like a brother than as a simple friend, despite the fact that he'd replaced him as leader of the Rangers, but he'd never seen him in the complete terror he was in now.

Tommy was a confident leader, sometimes too confident. He was willing to take risks that Jason simply wasn't and that, combine with a unique ability to pull off the impossible, was of great value to the Rangers. It was the only reason he'd stepped aside so easily when Zordon asked him to and, he silently admitted, one of the main reasons he'd chosen to leave and accept his new position on the Jr. World Peace Council. He wasn't exactly jealous of his friend, but two leaders on one team was one too much.

He hadn't been gone all that long. Earlier in the school year, he and Trini and Zack had gone to Switzerland to serve for a year or two traveling to various Jr. Peace Conferences and, although he hadn't returned for the holidays, he was home now to attend his cousin's wedding. He'd only stopped by to say hi and ask Zordon a few things about honing his negotiation skills, but before he could even really ask, the Rangers had transported into the Command Center in an absolute panic that the pink Ranger had been captured.

He wasn't actually all that surprised by the news; Kimberly had a knack for getting into to trouble and needing to be rescued. What surprised him was how troubled they all were over it. Kimberly, despite being a Ranger, wasn't exactly a model team player. She was spoiled and had a huge attitude and that combined with other things had given him more than one major migraine while running the team. While he'd always taken her abductions and mishaps seriously, the old team had usually viewed her calamities as more problematic than alarming. This new group, however, was seriously bothered by it and Tommy seemed to look like his favorite dog had just been run over by an ice cream truck. It was a bit disconcerting.

"This is Kimberly were talking about, right?" He added, trying to catch Tommy's eye. "The one who gets captured on a weekly basis and then whines for days that it ruined a manicure or social event of hers; usually forgetting to thank her rescuers for pulling her ass out of the fire?"

"Not exactly." Tommy replied hesitantly, turning away from Zordon and giving Jason an uncomfortable look. He and Jason had always been close friends, but there was still a bit of a silent rivalry between them; a jockeying over who's style was the right form of leadership for the group. Admitting he'd lost a team member on his watch was something he'd avoided acknowledging even to himself, but informing Jason of that kind of failure was brutal.

"What do you mean not exactly?" Jason asked, crossing his arms and frowning at the look on his friend's face. Tommy was acting strangely and a cold, creeping feeling began to settle into his gut.

Tommy turned and gave Zordon a questioning look, as if to silently ask how much he should say. The movement further deepened the frown of the former red Ranger's face and he shifted from foot to foot as an the uneasy feeling intensified.

"Our resident Kimberly fell prey to an unfortunate demonic occupancy which ended poorly in an unplanned and early termination." Billy offered.

"Billy!" Aisha squealed in horror. Former red Ranger or no, she didn't know Jason all that well and was appalled that Billy would just bluntly offer up Kim's secret.

"Excuse me?" Jason asked, eyebrow raising as he turned with a surprised look to Tommy. He wasn't entirely sure he understood what Billy had said; then again, he was even more afraid he did.

"The entire incident was most traumatic for all evolved." Billy continued. "But on the bright side, I must say that we are all agreed that the current Kimberly is most congenial and in general far better suited to the stability requirements of the current team. Thus our present dilemma and exceptional concern with her abduction." He added, nodding.

"What the…" Jason began, but was interrupted.

"I'm afraid my concerns are far more grave." Zordon offered in his deep and resounding voice. As one, all heads turned in his direction. "Alpha and I have recently detected latent signatures of Kemora's possession within the cells of the Alternate Kimberly's body. In Rita's hands, it is my greatest fear that she and Zedd will detect and find a way to utilize the latent evil energy within her; intensifying it and eventually creating a new demon spawn."

"Another Kemora?" Billy asked and Zordon nodded.

"We can't let that happen." Tommy answered with enough passion to earn an incredulous look from his visiting friend.

"Would someone mind filling me in here?" Jason asked again, deepening and raising his voice in a frustrated tone. Billy had said that Kimberly had been terminated, but then again he was never really positive what Billy was trying to say. Zordon had just said she was alive and captured by Rita. It didn't make sense. He had absolutely no clue how things could have changed so dramatically in such a short time. He'd been gone just a little over three months, but he might as well have walked back into the Command Center three years later.

"A few months ago, Kimberly…our Kimberly," Tommy began, turning to face his friend with remorse. "Was possessed by an interdimensional demon named Kemora." He stopped and swallowed hard, looking away in an uncomfortable gesture. "She was killed almost instantly."

"Kimberly's dead?" Jason barked incredulously. His worst fear realized, anger boiled immediately to the surface. His first thought was that he should have never left Angel Grove. Pain in the ass she might have been, but Kimberly was a Ranger. Rangers didn't let other Rangers die in action. Immediately, he regretted relinquishing control, leaving the team in the hands of someone willing to take more chances than he was. Anger exploded in him and that ager was solely pointed at the one person he'd left in charge.

"It couldn't be helped." Tommy fired back, his own pain and guilt rising his hackles in defense.

"The hell it couldn't." Jason shouted. He'd known Kimberly since he was little kid, his mother was best friends with her mother. Part of the reason he had agreed to come home was because his mom had told him Kimberly had been hurt by a monster and her head scrambled. Zordon had assured him that all was well and the events of that day explained to him when he returned; that was the only reason he'd stayed in Switzerland for the holidays with his friends…well, that and his parents were in the process of separating.

"Ai yi yi yi yi…Jason…Tommy…now is not the time to…" Alpha began, but was cut off by Billy's exclamation that he'd located Kimberly's signal in Zedd's dungeons.

"Her coin signal or her." Tommy asked, turning his back on Jason and quickly moving over to the station Billy was working from.

"Kimberly." Billy confirmed. "The morphanological signatures of the Alternate are quite distinct. The signatures of the coin itself appear to be repressed by…"

"I know that dungeon." Tommy interrupted breathlessly. This was exactly what he'd been waiting for. Newly energized, he all but jumped back in Zordon's direction. His heart was thudding again, but this time in anticipation instead of fear. "Zordon, I can do it. I know how to get in and out. I can…"

"Will someone please tell me…" Jason bellowed.

"Not now." Tommy snapped angrily, losing his patience. "Now I have to get Kim back, I'll explain everything later."

"I thought Kimberly was dead." Jason responded, anger making the words all but expressionless.

"Our Kimberly." Tommy nodded. "I couldn't save her bro." He admitted, shoulders dropping a little and eyes pleading with his friend to understand. "I tried, I really tried, but the demon was too powerful. I had to make a choice. If I didn't destroy her, she would have killed the entire team. I had no choice." He repeated. "It was lose Kimberly or lose all the others."

Jason regarded his friend evenly, absorbing the magnitude of what he was being told. The leader in him understood, but he still didn't like it. There had to have been a way to keep the pink Ranger from dying, but he also knew that if anyone would exhaust all possible options, it was Tommy. Jason had never had to make that choice. He'd hoped he'd never have to.

"So who's this other Kimberly you're trying to save from Rita and Zedd?" He asked after a few moments and Tommy's shoulders seemed to lift a little in silent acceptance that his friend and the former leader of the Rangers understood his dilemma.

"A duplicate Kimberly from an alternate universe." Alpha added simply, as if that answered all the questions burning through Jason's mind.

"What, you couldn't just find someone else to be the pink Ranger? You had to actually replace her with another Kimberly?" He asked contemptuously.

"It's a long story," Tommy answered, "I promise I'll explain everything later. Right now…I can't let Kimberly die again."

* * *

Kim groaned as Carri lost her hold on Zack and he slipped to the hard floor.

"Sorry." The other girl muttered, but Kim wasn't sure if she was apologizing to her for losing her grip or sarcastically rubbing it in that the guy whimpered as his shins hit the stone.

Zack wasn't making things easy for them. She couldn't fault him all that much; none of them had really recovered from the effects of the gas. He was still groggy and not really with it, but the girls decided they couldn't waste anymore time waiting on him to get better. Unfortunately, that meant struggling with his virtual dead weight combined with fits of consciousness where he tried to wrestle free. The three stumbled along as they went and progress was painfully slow.

"Just pick him up and let's go." Kim tried to suggest patiently, but she could tell by the other girl's look that the comment hadn't been taken well. "We can't leave him and we have to get as far up the higher levels as we can and toward the exit."

"I thought the moon was on the other side of that exit." Carri grumbled, but she picked her brother's friend up, ignoring his slurring innuendos suggesting he thought he was dealing with a couple of fans escorting him back to his room. "Don't we explode or something if we go out without space suits?"

Kim stopped midway as she knelt down to pick up Zack's arm again, staring at the girl in surprise and then jerking her eyes away as they both coordinated lifting the boy back up. She hadn't thought of that. It was something Rangers didn't have to consider. She wasn't sure how it worked, whether it was linked to her power coin or if it was some device Zordon had somehow protected them with, but the correct pressurization and gasses they needed to breath simply surrounded them like a clear force field wherever they went. Her Ninjetti powers were definitely innate and would protect her even if she didn't have her coin, which she didn't at the moment, but Zack and Carri would almost certainly die without pressurization suits and oxygen.

"Hopefully the Rangers will find us before it comes to that." She murmured.

"And if they don't?" Carri asked pointedly.

"Then we worry about that when it happens." Kim answered, wrapping Zack's arm around her neck and shoulders in an attempt to lift him again.

"Your worries have only just begun pink Ranger." Goldar growled, stepping out from behind a blind corner, sword ready. Kim glanced quickly behind, ready to switch directions, but even as she turned, monsters and Tengas scurried up from the rear as well as from behind Goldar in front of them; effectively sealing off the passageway.

"Who…?" Carri started, but before she could finish, a blue glow erupted inside the passageway wall just a few feet from them.

"Billy, I swear I'm gonna kiss you." Kim muttered in relief before shouting. "Carri run!"

Using all her weight to shove Zack in to the other girl's arms, she added. "It's me they want, take Zack and get through that transport portal, it'll take you back to the Rangers."

"But…" Carri protested as she staggered under Zack's full weight. She stopped mid word though as Kim charged backward away from Goldar and into a throng of Tengas. She nodded grimly then staggered in the direction of the glowing blue doorway.

"Where're we go'in pretty lady?" Zack slurred, oblivious to the mêlée around him.

"Walk with me to the glowing blue light and I'll show you." Carri responded suggestively, then rolled her eyes as he lurched forward eagerly. "Good god." She muttered as she guided the now suddenly mobile teen idol. "If I'd know twenty minutes ago that was all it was gonna take to get you walking…" She left the rest of the sentence hanging as they reached the portal. "In you go playboy." She added with disgust as she tried to toss him face first through the glowing wall.

Zack, however, wasn't having any of it. He swung around, knocking her over, then giggled as he himself splattered to the ground in front of the portal. Carri shot him a vicious look that would have made any sober man cringe and promptly turned and stood up in a huff, ready to leave him behind. But as she started to jump through the portal herself, she stopped and turned.

Kim was right, the monsters had ignored them and completely surrounded her. Looking to the other side of the passageway, she realized that the winged monkey like thing hadn't engaged her, but was leaning casually against the wall as if bored and simply waiting for Kim to tire herself out or for someone else to appear through the portal.

Kim was doing some impressive fighting, but she was seriously outnumbered; it didn't make sense. She and Zack were basically being allowed to leave while the monsters seemed hell bent on subduing Kimberly. Then the head monster's words came back to her. This was no case of mistaken identity, Kim was right, she really was the one they wanted.

Suddenly, it all made sense; getting caught up in a monster attack and getting hurt, how the Power Rangers just happened to be there in time, how they just happened to take her back to her base…something that never happened… and why the Power Rangers would show up at a little charity auction when there were much bigger events happening in the world. Carri stared at the smaller girl a little longer than she really should have while trying to process the magnitude of it all. She wondered then at the group of friends that had so suddenly descended upon her once she'd been hurt…how they were always together…how they always ran off at the same time. She was just about to follow those thoughts through to their logical conclusion when Zack heaved forward and began vomiting wilding. In disgust, she side stepped around the splatter of vomit and again looked in Kim's direction. It was obvious she was going to lose; there were simply too many of them.

Coming to a decision, she put her hands on her hips and nodded sharply. Kim needed her help and she wasn't going to leave her behind. With a burst of energy born of her resolution to stay behind, she grabbed Zack by his shirt and belt and tossed him roughly through the portal; then turned and faced the scuffle.

She'd only had a couple of karate classes, so she didn't bother to reassure herself she knew what she was doing, but she did know that years dealing with the backstabbing brat pack of competitive cheerleaders had left her with a mean knee and elbow when she needed it. Taking a deep breath, she sprang forward three hard steps for power and jumped screaming like a banshee on the closest monster's back; kicking and clawing with all her might.

* * *

"No!" Tommy screamed as the portal began to shut and the viewing globe showed a battered Kim and Carri being hauled roughly away. "Let me go!" He wailed, jerking and heaving and trying to break away from the locked hold Jason, Rocky, and Adam had on him.

"It was a trap …" Jason yelled, still wrestling with him. "Think about it Tommy. Goldar just stood there watching the portal. Bro… he was expecting you to jump through and rescue them. He was waiting for you."

"I concur." Billy offered from the sidelines. "The lack of residual shielding in that segment of the palace in the precise instant we were able to distinguish Kimberly's signal unambiguously is most improbable. I believe we were merely given and opportunistic moment in hope that we might be enticed to employ poor strategic reasoning and act purely on our emotional predilection for our team member."

"What he said." Adam grunted, struggling with his unreasonable friend. He understood all too well that Tommy was attached to the Alternate, but he couldn't let it ruin his judgment; everyone in the room knew what Goldar was up to; it wasn't fair, it wasn't nice, but that's the way it was.

As the portal slowly sealed shut and evaporated, Tommy's shoulders slumped and he ceased to struggle. All he could do was watch the blank space hopelessly and sink to the floor in defeat as the viewing globe showed both girls being carried off down the hall and out of sight. A few seconds later, the viewing globe also went dark.

"You see?" Jason asked steadfastly, letting go of the white Ranger's arm now that he had stopped struggling and there was no more danger of him doing something incredibly stupid. "They wanted you leaping in there to the rescue so they could take you too. Kimberly was bait; nothing more."

"Well at least we got Zack back." Aisha commented dryly as the teen star rolled over on his knees and vomited again on the Command Center floor. As one, the Rangers winced and exchanged pained looks.

"I don't get why Carri didn't come back too." Rocky grumbled with a frustrated frown. "She was right there; right on the other side of the portal. I could have grabbed her and pulled her through if you guys hadn't argued Goldar would've seen me."

"You gotta admit it was pretty brave of her to give up her own escape and go back to help Kimberly." Adam commented.

"Pretty stupid you mean." Aisha added, stepping around the still heaving TV star and coming up alongside the other Rangers. "Now what?"

"Plan B." Tommy answered gruffly. "I know the lunar palace pretty well. Rita doesn't have many openings to her dark dimensions, it's too dangerous something will escape. She won't waste time and energy taking the girls out now. She'll keep them in the dungeons; it's easier. I have to go in and get them."

"I'll go with you." Jason added solemnly. "I also have a lot of experience in those dungeons. Rita and Zedd won't expect me; they'll be looking for you. You can distract them and I'll slip in get the girls."

"No." Tommy answered firmly, shaking his head. "You don't have your Ranger powers."

"Bro…" Jason replied honestly, "Ranger powers aren't gonna work down there; we both know it. It's up to you and me; you can't risk sending in the other Rangers in case…"

"Ai yi yi yi yi yi yi!" Alpha interrupted, arms flailing as he backed awkwardly away from his console. "Lord Zedd has sent a monster and Tengas into Angel Grove Park to chase civilians."

Jason turned and regarded Tommy with a mordant look, one eyebrow raised. "Some things never change, do they?"

* * *

Carri moaned loudly as she rolled to a stop inside the dank cell. It was a different one than before, at least, she thought it was a different one than before. They were now inside some sort of laboratory filled with bubbling experiments and all sort of gross objects held suspended in jars.

"Not exactly the Ritz is it?" Kat purred, smirking as Carri struggled to a sitting position.

"Why are you doing this Kat?" Carri asked as defiantly as she could. She hurt worse than she thought she would and was frankly as surprised to still be alive as she was at the pain of being in a real fight.

"It doesn't matter." Kim muttered, rolling over from where she'd been dropped and struggling to a sitting position. "You won't get an answer out of her Carri. She's completely under Rita's control."

"No one controls me!" Kat hissed, striding over and glaring at Kim from the other side of the bars. "You just can't accept that I won." She said nastily, squatting down in a fluid motion. "Missing this little pink Ranger?" She asked, producing Kim's power coin and holding it temptingly just out of reach. "It's mine now." She purred evilly. "Zedd's going to allow Rita to drain your energy…that's how she turned the green coin you know. You take a Ranger and then you separate it from its coin…then you drain the life energy from the Ranger and trap it inside the coin linked to it." She paused as if savoring a particularly intoxicating flavor or smell. Opening her eyes and looking directly into Kim's, she added evilly, "Then their power belongs to you. The very evilness of the act turns the coin. You murder them…then they belong to you for all eternity."

"Stop it Kat!" Carri shouted, terrified despite herself. The change in her cousin was so profound, it was almost like looking at a stranger.

"Poor little cuz…" Kat purred, "In a little over your head, don't you think? Zedd's going to give you to one of his henchmen to play with; how the high and mighty do fall…." She mused nastily.

"What's the matter with you?" Carri spat, still baffled by the change in her cousin. "This isn't you, this isn't anything like what you want to be. You're little miss perfect, all kind and caring and warm and fluffy…the one everyone loves to fuss over and cuddle."

"I am perfect." Kat countered with a smirk, standing up and regarding the two trapped girls with distain. "And as for what I want," She added silkily. "I'm about to get that too."

She turned and regarded Kim with a look of antipathy mixed with gloating. "I'm about to get a fully charged pink power coin, about to see the one girl I hate most die in agony, and then…" She cooed, as if savoring the best for last, "I'm going to be in the perfect position to comfort poor, distraught Tommy. I'll let him rescue me, think he's turned me back into a goodie-goodie princess, then I'll be the one he'll turn to for comfort when he's missing his pathetic, dead Kimberly." She added, a slow wicked smile spreading across her face as she locked eyes with the pink Ranger. "I'll have everything you care about…and then I'll destroy it all."


	20. Chapter 20: The Muirantian Factor

Power Rangers: The Alternate

Chapter 20: The Muirantian Factor

_Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Disney. All things Carri belong to KJ, with many thanks._

_**The story takes place in an alternate universe**__._

* * *

Tommy was in agony. Not the physical kind of agony, that kind of pain he could handle, this was a pure emotional sort of torture that he'd simply never experienced before. He couldn't think and he couldn't move, yet adrenaline coursed through his body and made every nerve live wired and ready to explode. It made him jumpy, moody, exhausted, and completely hyper all at once.

"So you want to tell me what's going on between you and this alternate Kimberly?" Jason asked, breaking into his melancholy thoughts and genuinely startling him enough to make him jump.

"What do you mean?" He asked, turning around from the consol where he'd been trying to find any sign of where Kim had been taken inside the palace. There was an odd blip, a pinhole in the force field not too far outside of where Rita's private sanctuary had been, but he couldn't quite see through it yet.

"Come on bro…" Jason answered in an easy tone, sitting down beside him. "Billy says the two of you have developed a more than platonic relationship. I take that to mean you made more headway with her than the last Kimberly?"

Tommy flinched visibly, knowing Jason was one of the very few to know he'd had a crush on the resident Kimberly. Any feelings he might have harbored for that girl though, were quickly dashed and he'd been very firmly put back in his place.

The resident Kimberly hadn't been interested; at all. She'd let it be known that he was cute and might be fun to play with, but she was really far too busy with gymnastics…and the attentions of a world class male gymnast. He'd been disappointed, but that disappointment hadn't lasted too long; not once he'd gotten to know how high maintenance she could be.

"She's so different it isn't even funny." He murmured, turning from the consol to face his friend.

"How so?" Jason wondered. The very concept of putting an alternate from another dimension on the team was completely baffling to him. On the one hand, he was honestly grieving the death of his friend and furious both at the deception of her replacement and the knowledge Tommy hadn't wasted anytime moving in on the new girl, but on the other, he was also genuinely fascinated by it.

"Her mom died when she was ten." Tommy explained. "She grew up shuffled from home to home; there isn't anything spoiled or pampered or…I dunno. The Rangers were her family. Her whole focus was the team; not gymnastics or cheerleading or shopping or partying. We have everything in common. I mean, everything from martial arts to the Rangers to family stuff; we even like the same kind of books and food."

Jason raised an eyebrow in surprise, but absorbed the new information without comment. A Kimberly totally focused on the Rangers; one that liked books? It didn't seem possible.

He had grown up with Kimberly since the age of about three; been there all through elementary, Junior High, and when they'd first been chosen by Zordon. She and Zack had refused their powers at first, but he'd pressured her into taking them anyway. At the time, he'd wanted to be a super hero and save the world. None of them really knew what they were in for until much later.

He felt fairly guilty about that now. If he hadn't forced her into joining the team, she could have focused only on gymnastics like she wanted to; not died at the hands of a demon during one of Zedd's attacks. He couldn't imagine how painful that death must have been for her; couldn't even contemplate it at the moment.

"She's really amazing." Tommy continued and Jason's eyebrow simply raised again.

"How so?" He asked simply.

"Well, for one thing…" Tommy began, but stopped as Billy approached.

"Guys?" Billy interjected hesitantly. "I believe we have a more pressing predicament than the current discussion over the logistics of liberating the girls from Zedd's imprisonment."

"What's going on?' Tommy asked, standing up and moving past Jason to face him.

"Kim's mom's on TV." Adam volunteered, coming up from behind Billy. "What happened at the museum is all over the news and she's telling everyone we're missing."

* * *

"With each turn of the wheel she becomes weaker, but she's not dead yet ." Zedd observed as he watched Kimberly rotate on the sphere Rita had strapped her to. It looked like something you'd see at a circus rather than any kind of malevolent apparatus. He expected a knife thrower to appear at any moment and attempt to amuse him by tossing daggers at the girl as she spun.

"She grows weaker, but the coin itself grows stronger. Steal her life energy too quickly and the coin will overload and destroy itself." Rita argued. "Remember Zeddie, I'm the only sorceress to successfully achieve poisoning a power coin." She added, just in case he was doubting her ability.

"I have complete faith in you my little spider biscuit." He responded playfully, slapping her affectionately on the rear and sending several layers of petticoats flying with the impact.

It had been a good day. They had one Ranger in custody and any moment he expected a few more to pay them a visit. "I am simply impatient to produce such a delicious victory over Zordon; to possess my very own evil Ranger."

"Yes…" She snarled from between clenched teeth. "The victory will be all our…yours to savor."

"Proceed then." Zedd declared imperially, then turned and strode out of the room, leaving her to her work.

Rita scowled after him, but kept her expression carefully controlled. She'd managed to save the situation nicely, capturing both a Ranger and her coin; even if it wasn't Tommy. She wasn't all that surprised the boy hadn't taken Zedd's bait and jumped in to rescue his little girlfriend. Tommy was intelligent and that idiot Goldar had just stood there waiting for him instead of pretending to attack the girl and subdue her; it was obvious the whole debacle was a trap. With any luck, her former green would make the second attempt Zedd was hoping for.

She'd lowered the security in her lab and set the computers to give the false impression of a small hole in the force field just a little ways away from the girl. She'd carefully hidden scores of Tengas and monsters in the passageways adjoining the only spot Tommy could possibly hope to transport into to, while keeping the illusion that no one was watching it; now it was all a matter of timing and luck. She had to keep the girl alive long enough to lure Tommy, but drain her energy fast enough to secure her power over the coin.

Something was amiss though. The girl's cells seemed to replenish their energy by themselves, but not with human energy. She had run tertiary scans to try and solve the riddle, but was limited by what she could and couldn't do while the Wheel of Doom was in motion.

She frowned deeply as she watched several pulses drain from the girl and infuse the coin. With each pulsation, the human energy extracted was a little less pure; yet what was contaminating it was a mystery. The only way to know for certain was to stop the process and do a complete analysis, but that was something she was simply unwilling to risk; she needed this victory to secure her place with Zedd.

He had been correct, she realized uneasily, although he didn't understand why. The girl was growing weaker, but she hadn't died. Humans were not that sturdy; even human Rangers. Rita should have had to turn down the dial by now to keep her alive, yet the machine still churned at its original setting. By her calculations, the girl should have perished by now, but she hadn't.

"Did he just call you spider biscuit?" Carri asked sardonically from within her cage, genuinely repulsed. She'd watched Zedd smack the old witch on the backside, seen her scowl at him and then quickly check her expression. If she wasn't mistaken, Rita wasn't exactly the happy little wife she claimed she was.

Rita turned and glowered at the girl, but said nothing. With any luck, she'd be rid of both her prisoners in less than an hour.

* * *

Tommy wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say to Kim's mom, but he honestly did feel that he owed her something more than "Please don't do anymore interviews, you're going to freak out our parents."

The stage and press area were now littered with paper flyers and trash and most of the chairs had been turned over. Police cars and fire trucks surrounded the area, but he knew there had been no fire and all the emergency workers had found when they arrived was the remnants of Kat's toxic pink smoke; which had apparently sent several people to the hospital for simply inhaling it. After the blip on the news, the rest of Rangers had quickly called their parents to say that they were safe and would be home soon after being treated, but Kim and Carri couldn't make that kind of a call and both their mothers, Kim's especially, would raise hell if they didn't show up soon.

The area was taped off with yellow barrier tape, but he simply stepped over a low spot and kept walking. A police officer began to protest, then stopped, eyes widening, as he realized the white Power Ranger was walking towards him. Tommy ignored the man, he was used to that kind of reaction. He passed by him without acknowledgement and instead focused on Kim's mom and a few others he recognized as being associated with the auction. He had doubts about what he was doing, but he also knew that it could be hours before they'd have Kim back. Maybe it was also that he felt guilty over the last time the resident Kimberly had disappeared and he'd done nothing to inform her mother, but at least this time, perhaps he could to let her know he knew she was alive.

"All I want to know is if she's been taken to a hospital and, if so, which one." She was arguing in a frustrated voice. The police officer she was talking to simply nodded and kept writing, which obviously irritated her.

"While I sympathize with you Mrs. Hart…" A man began in the same agitated tone.

"It's Ms. Williams." Kim's mother shot back, temper rising. "I haven't been Mrs. Hart in over a year."

"Ms. Williams," The man corrected tensely. "I simply must insist we put the priority on locating Zachary first. We must know where he's been taken so we can provide adequate security."

He was a small man that Tommy identified as Zack's personal secretary. He rolled his eyes behind his visor and tried to draw patience where he really didn't have any left. The man was repugnant. He kowtowed and fawned over Zack and Carri, but was basically obnoxious and nasty to everyone else. A round looking, middle-aged man, he tended to sweat profusely and now was no exception. As Tommy approached, he mopped his brow with a white handkerchief several times, but it didn't appear to do any good.

"You mean keep this incident off TV and out of the tabloids until you can figure out how to turn it to your advantage." Kim's mom fired back. "Well it's too late for that Mr. Darren, it's already all over the news that no one knows where those kids are. My daughter and all her friends were in the exact spot that, whatever it was, went off. They were right in the worst of the smoke that sent people as far as fifty feet away from it to the hospital. You want to talk about bad publicity? If it comes out that that over blown teenage airhead gets any preferential treatment over those kids, I'll…" She stopped as she realize Tommy was coming to a halt in front of her and stared, not really believing what she saw.

She swallowed hard. The last time she had been face to face with the white Ranger was in the hospital's family briefing room after the doctors had told her that her daughter was alive, but seriously hurt. He had explained that there had been a monster attack and the Rangers had done what they could, but her daughter might never remember her life before the accident. That had been an understatement; not just Kim's life, but all their lives, had been turned upside down and inside out.

"Ms. Williams, may I speak with you privately for a moment?" Tommy asked politely and Kim's mother nodded, swallowing hard again against the bile rising in her throat.

"Wait..." Mr. Darren interrupted, reaching a hand out and grabbing her arm. "He knows who you are?"

Kim's mom turned and gave the man a disgusted look, then disengaged the sweaty hand and turned to follow Tommy to a quieter spot. Excited by a potential "in" with the Power Rangers, he continued to call out several offers of getting them on one talk show or the next…. maybe even a sitcom…and Molly would of course be paid a finder's fee… but she ignored him and never looked back.

"Are you here to tell me that my daughter's dead?" Molly asked, fear making her voice stern and edgy.

"The last time I saw her she was alive." Tommy admitted, which was true at least. He winced at her comment though, knowing all too well that the resident Kimberly was, in fact, deceased. "But she was directly exposed to the smoke." He added. As he watched her shoulders relax, whatever words he thought he'd say melted from his mind and instead he found himself completely unprepared to say anything.

"That gas was meant for the Rangers, wasn't it?" She asked pointedly, looking directly into his visor.

"Yes." Tommy admitted. At least that was accurate.

"And my daughter and her friends got caught up in it instead, didn't they?"

Tommy closed his eyes and wondered again why he'd made the effort to seek her out. He didn't want her talking to the press again, he reminded himself. He needed to stop her from worrying the other parents.

"You need to quietly tell the authorities that they've been located and are receiving treatment." He said gently, but firmly. "We can't keep them and care for them if people are asking questions. The media needs to stop reporting them missing."

"Are they ok?" She asked earnestly, eyes and face worried.

"Some are more sick than others." He admitted, thinking of Zack vomiting on the Command Center floor. "It all depends."

"But you'll bring Kimberly home safe?" Her mother asked hopefully and Tommy could definitely hear the fear and worry behind the words.

His heart sank. He wanted nothing more than to rescue Kim and bring her home, but he simply couldn't bring himself to reassure her mother in case their efforts turned out to be in vain. They had lost viewing globe capacity inside the Lunar Palace nearly an hour before and, although Billy had located the girls through the pinhole he'd spotted, he had no idea what they'd find once they actually got in there. He had completed what he set out to do, he told himself, he didn't need to say more than that.

"I won't let anything bad happen to her," He said with more certainty than he felt. "I promise."

* * *

When Tommy returned, Jason wasn't the only visitor in the Command Center; Thomas had also arrived. As he transported in, he walked slowly over to where the other Rangers were standing, keeping the interdimensional traveler in his sight as he did so. Kim all but worshiped the man, but he left Tommy with an uneasy feeling. The last time he'd visited, the resident Kimberly had died and he'd brought them the Alternate to replace her; he sincerely hoped this visit didn't mean the Alternate would also die.

"It's called the Muirantian factor." Thomas was saying. "I was unsure if it's effects would take root in the girl simply by Kemora's possession alone."

"What does that mean?" Tommy asked, feeling he'd missed the majority of a major briefing and frankly irked that he hadn't been called back.

Thomas turned and regarded the boy stoically in the same unemotional front he showed everyone. In truth, he had a mixed reaction to Zordon's emergency call. On the one hand, he was delighted the girl didn't have to suffer the trauma of Maligore's pit to develop her potential. The news that Kemora could produce her own demon spawn was fascinating and made him wonder if the same would hold true for K; if she survived the verdict of the Guardian Moderators.

Of more pressing concern to him though, was that she was in Zedd's hands. Zedd was extremely intelligent. If he were to recognize what was happening, he could potentially transform her to evil much the way Maligore did with his Kimberlys. It was critical that he get her safely back to her Tommy. The boy needed to love her, give her hope for the future. That was about the only thing he could think of that would keep her from becoming another Kemora.

"The cells of the Alternate's body have been poisoned with Kemora's demonic power." He replied frankly. "The change happens within the mitochondria. The demonic power cells systematically infect the human cells, specifically mitochondria, killing it, and replacing it with an alternate source of power directly linked to an energy source on an interdimensional island known as Muirantias. It's called the Muirantian factor because that's the way Muirantian fire demons reproduce themselves."

"How do we stop it?" Tommy asked, horrified and genuinely shaking with fear for his girlfriend. He'd fought Kemora, had to kill the resident Kimberly to keep the demon from destroying the Rangers. He would do anything to save Kim from that fate.

"We don't." Thomas replied bluntly. "Once the process has begun, it will continue until the girl becomes a full blood demon spawn."

"Then the girl is doomed." Zordon added sadly from his power tube. "Perhaps it is best then if Zedd is allowed to destroy her."

"No!" Tommy all but screamed, drawing all eyes to him. "Zordon there has to be a way. We can't just let her die. She's no more evil than I am."

"Ai yi yi, Tommy it's not that simple." Alpha offered in a cajoling tone. "Kemora didn't begin life as an evil demon either, the transformation made her evil."

"That's not quite correct." Thomas interjected, drawing the attention of the room back to him. "Kemora was bitter and angry when she entered Maligore's fire. It was relatively easy for the demon to transform her into his offspring. She wanted it, longed for the bloodlust; still longs for it."

What Thomas didn't add was that it was the failure of Kemora's Tommy that she'd become what she was. The boy had never loved her and left her easily for his Katherine. Kemora had been jilted while away from home pursuing her childhood dream. The boy's betrayal had been devastating and, spurred by the hate infused into her, she had relished taking her revenge on him. K, on the other hand, had proved that didn't have to be the girl's fate.

"There is a precedent." Thomas said slowly. "I know at least one case where the Kimberly survived the transformation and, with help and guidance, overcame the innate nature of what she was transformed into."

"You speak of the Guardian Kaycea." Zordon murmured, frowning as if thinking hard. "The one who hunts Kemora as you do."

Thomas turned toward the great wizard, surprised and yet not surprised. He must have done extensive research into the realm of the guardians to know of K, or Kaycea as the interdimensional community knew her. Technically, she wouldn't exist in the continuum, for nearly another half a decade, but she was also an established time traveler, so perhaps it was not so unusual a discovery after all.

"Yes." He said simply. "And if this girl, Kemora's own spawn, were successfully trained to serve on the side of good…"

"Then you would have two warriors in your fight against Kemora." Zordon answered for him. "This concerns me greatly Thomas." He added. "It tells me that you knew of the girl's fate and yet placed her here with us anyway in hopes of obtaining another Kaycea."

"I honestly did not know if the girl would develop or not." Thomas answered, facing the old master squarely. In truth he'd hoped, but he hadn't known. "There has been no one else whom I've come across who has ever survived Kemora's possession; although I'm still searching."

"How do we help her?" Tommy interjected, his face worried and hopeful Thomas would have an answer.

Thomas turned and regarded the boy unemotionally. There had been many Tommys who had tried to turn their Kimberlys and failed. The problem lay in the general historical trend of the Tommys preferring their Katherines. This boy, however, showed every sign of developing the opposite inclination. They would soon know for sure. If the boy rescued Katherine from Zedd and found himself attracted to her, it would be better to destroy his little Alternate before she became too powerful. If, however, like himself, the boy fell enough in love with his Kimberly so as not to allow his head to be turned, then perhaps the girl had hope.

"You have to love her." He said simply, meeting the boys eyes. "You have to be strong when she isn't, protect her, support her. If she survives the transformation, then she'll need guidance, encouragement…but most of all love. Then and only then will she have a chance of surviving."

"I can do that." Tommy said fervently. "Zordon I can do that, I already love her." He declared, turning to his mentor with an almost pleading look on his face. "She has the Rangers, we're her family. She considers the Rangers more her family than the rest of us do our parents. We're enough, I know we are."

"Tommy, the consequences for the universe if we should fail..." Zordon began gently.

"Then we won't fail." Tommy interrupted passionately and Thomas resisted the urge to smile. "The Rangers never gave up on me, despite the fact that I nearly destroyed them and this entire Command Center. We won't give up on her."

Thomas regarded the boy impassively, barely able to keep the pleased look off his face. He was a strong version. That fact had been demonstrated in his ability to thwart Kemora at such a young age. He was intelligent and driven and felt his emotions passionately. It would work, he was sure of it. The boy had already attached himself to the girl, now Thomas would add the emotional bond of rescuing her from Zedd and they would be bound together for life.

This one, he decided, he would leave with her Tommy. Perhaps by anchoring her to a spouse, he would avoid the independent streak that had developed in K. With any luck, the two would reproduce early as he and his wife had; further grounding her. He stopped his line of thought abruptly, unwilling to think of his family and firmly shutting out the memories of their death at Kemora's hands. He would leave this one with her Tommy, decided.

"Love is a powerful ally." He commented, regarding Tommy sternly, then turned to face Zordon's power tube to gauge the master's reaction. Most Zordons were similar, but some were more daring or restrained than others. What he was asking was risky, but the forces of good were going to have to take some risks if the forces of evil continued to cheat against the restoration of the Great Balance.

"It is the most powerful force for good in the universe." The old master replied, unconvinced and concerned by Thomas's plan. "It has been known to conquer the impossible."

What he didn't add was that love was fickle in humans and the passion of youth faded over time. He had to trust that Thomas knew more than he revealed; which was generally the case. He knew the man worked with his old master, Primus. It was Primus who had warned him to cease his inquiries into Kaycea and her doppelganger Kemora. He had only to hope there was a larger plan in motion that would reveal itself in time.

"Find her." Thomas said harshly, turning back to Tommy and meeting his eyes sternly. "We can do nothing for her if she remains in Zedd's hands."

* * *

Jason turned and caught Tommy's eye as Billy opened the first of the portals. Tommy held his friend's gaze seriously for a moment, then nodded.

A small breach had opened in Zedd's force field, but all of them knew it was no accident it had opened within a few corridors of Rita's private laboratory; where both girls had, by coincidence, been located. Tommy's memory reaffirmed that Rita's private domain was in the securest, most highly patrolled and guarded section of the palace. There was almost no chance it was an accident or mechanical failure and every chance that Zedd's forces would be waiting for them.

Fortunately they had Billy, who knew that type of force field backward and forwards. Working on a theory of equal and opposite reactions, he'd discovered a small opening paralleling the one Zedd was tempting them with. It wasn't as near to the girls as the main breech, or as large, but they could still break through and reach them.

The plan was simple. Zedd was expecting Tommy to come after Kim. He'd go first, accompanied by Rocky and Adam, and distract Goldar. No one was expecting Jason. He'd transport separately as close to the location they'd found the girls in as Billy could get him. Aisha and Billy would remain behind in case Zedd launched another attack on Angel Grove.

"Ready?" Tommy asked the others.

"Ready!" Rocky and Adam responded in unison.

"It's morphin time!" Tommy shouted.

* * *

"Kat, you can stop this." Carri said beseechingly as Kim lost consciousness; head lolling back and forth.

Her hands gripped the cold, slimy metal of her cage in frustration, but her cousin seemed not to hear. Kim was hooked up to some sort of spinning wheel and at the end of every rotation a pink spark materialized from her abdomen and flew into the machine across from her. Rita had gone. It was taking longer than expected to drain Kimberly's life energy and she wanted to make sure Goldar and his goons were prepared to hold Tommy off until it was too late to save either the girl or the pink coin.

"Kat come on." Carri begged in frustration. "She's gonna die. You're going to kill her; it'll be all your fault."

Her cousin turned to her then and, away from Rita's presence, at least seemed curious in what she had to say. Carri was honestly at a loss as to what to do. She could handle a lot of things being thrown at her, but spells and witchcraft and draining someone's life energy was like something off a bad TV show; not the stuff of real life.

"Kat think…try…" She cajoled, fingers turning white with pressure against the bars, "Come on Kat, this isn't you. You're the good girl, the perfect one everybody loves."

Kat stared at her vacantly, brow knotted, as if trying to remember something. There were memories just beyond the pink and purple smoke that blurred her vision and caused so much confusion. If Carri had been more knowledgeable of spells, she would have known that it was incredibly hard to turn someone's nature against their will and fairly easy to talk them out of it.

Tommy had been the perfect evil green because he was a smart, tenaciously aggressive, dedicated, and, at the time Rita had captured him, basically a completely angry teenager. He'd also had a power coin to cement the curse. His saving grace had been that he was also the consummate hero. Underneath all the teenage angst, he had a heart of gold; he genuinely and deeply cared.

Kat wasn't Tommy. Only her jealously and disappointment fed the spell, but that was transient at best. She was an indisputably sweet and kind soul. Doing good deeds and helping others had always come naturally to her and filled her heart. She thought the best of people, even when they disappointed her, which was why she couldn't hold on to her own unhappiness over Tommy. It wasn't real enough to her. Her heart knew that life would go on despite her disillusionment and her general good nature was honestly contented that he and Kim were happy; even if that meant she lost.

"Kat come on…" Carri growled in frustration despite herself. She was never very good with cajoling. Her brother could weasel anything out of anybody, but she just simply never had the patience for it. Catching herself, she drew on every acting class she'd ever taken and added in a much more entreating tone, "Kat, she's gonna die. You don't want that. I know you don't."

In response, Kat blinked several times as if waking up from a bad dream. "Where am I?" She asked softly, looking around the room in confusion.

Realizing she might have actually broken through the bitch armor, as she'd silently labeled it, Carri demanded in a much more excited voice, "Open the cell!"

"What?" He cousin asked, as if that was the stupidest question she'd ever heard.

"Come on Kat, we have to save Kim and get out of here before Rita comes back!" She encouraged, silently praying she could get her cousin moving before the spell took hold again.

"Kimberly?" Her cousin asked, frowning deeply in bewilderment. She moved slowly forward toward the cell bars though and began examining them as if wondering where they came from.

"Kat listen." Carri said as patiently as she could. "We're in something called Bandora's Palace, it's a really big place, full of really big and really nasty monsters. Kim is on that wheel and about to die if we don't get her down."

At those words, Kat turned her head and spied Kimberly, murmuring something unintelligible in surprise.

"Kat look at me." Carri demanded firmly and when the other girl complied, she said in the most composed voice she could muster, "Go over to the control panel opposite the wheel. Rita triggered the cage with one of the buttons on the right. The one to release it should be over there somewhere too."

Kat turned her head to the control panel, then back to Carri, seeming to become more and more aware of her situation with every passing second. She shook her head slowly several times as if trying to organize her thoughts. "Oh my God, what have done?" She asked despondently, gulping several huge breaths as the direness of the situation also took root.

"Not now Kat." Carri answered. "You can feel guilty later, right now we have to save Kimberly and get the hell out of here."

"I think I remember a bit." Kat answered, nodding and meeting her eyes; becoming more and more animated and aware as the seconds past. " A lever…"

She turned and rushed to the console and Carri breathed a huge sigh of relief. Releasing her from the cage though, wasn't nearly a simple and she had hoped it would be. After several false starts and fears over setting off alarms, Kim slid unconscious from the wheel to the fog covered ground below, but Carri was still firmly trapped.

"Hold on…" Kat said, more than a little flustered, "I haven't tried these over here."

She hit a whole new set of buttons and the cage, at last, flew upward into the ceiling and out of sight. Carri half squealed, half grunted her relief, and raced forward to help Kim off the floor.

* * *

Jason had a little more trouble than he'd anticipated getting the two floors down to where Billy had located the girls. He didn't run into any trouble, but the others were apparently giving Goldar a good fight and the palace was in a uproar; moving stealthily through the halls was all but impossible. After a good bit of back tracking and zigzagging, he reached Rita's private laboratory, just as Carri and Kat were attempting to lift an unconscious Kimberly from the ground.

"Who the hell are you?" Carri barked, disentangling herself from the unconscious girl. Standing up and grabbing a loose metal pipe, she confronted the stranger head on. "What do you want?"

Jason paused and held his hands up slowly, "I'm uh…here to rescue you guys." He said in a slightly bemused voice.

"Yeah, well, nice of you to finally show up hero, but the rescue's already accomplished." She spat back. The guy looked human, but at that particular moment, after a more than wacked out, creepy day, she wasn't taking any chances.

"Oh…well then, if that's the case…since you guys already know the way out and all… I'll just go help the Rangers fight off Goldar and about six thousand monsters and oversized talking crows." He offered, turning his back to them and striding towards the door.

"Wait…" Carri offered in a less hostile tone, and he turned back around slowly to her with a placating Cheshire grin.

"You're here with the Rangers?" Carri asked, even though she was already pretty sure she knew the answer. Jason grinned at her a little more, crossing his arms in front of him, and she rolled her eyes. "Fine." Carri spat. "I mean," She added in a much nicer voice that made Jason fight off a chuckle. "We would very much appreciate some help getting out of here. I'm Carri, that's Kat, and this is Kim." She said, grunting a little as she tried to lift the unconscious girl from the ground again.

"Well..since you asked so nicely…." Jason drolled, locking an amused set of eyes with Carri's and striding forward. He wasn't exactly sure who the brunette was, but then again, it occurred to him that he didn't really know any of the team or support crew anymore. The others had simply labeled her an innocent, but they'd also said to watch out for the blond, who was under one of Rita's evil spells, and the poor kitten matching her description didn't look anything near evil.

"How long has Kimberly been out cold like this?" He asked, picking the unconscious girl up as if she weighed nothing. Her resemblance to the resident Kimberly was frightening and he couldn't help but stare at the pale face for any detectable differences.

"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes." Carri responded and he nodded in understanding.

"Come on, let's get her back to the Command Center." He advised. "I don't know how long we have before someone figures out no one's guarding you guys anymore."

"That would actually be giving these idiots credit for thinking." Carri spat back and Jason chuckled as he regarded her a little more closely.

He liked her. He was pretty sure she wasn't on the current team, but that didn't mean anything. The Rangers had friends and allies all over the galaxy. He doubted she was a local from Angel Grove like the others had classified her. A normal girl would have been hysterical in Rita's lab. A brave girl would be seriously shaken and cowed by her experience; like the blond. This girl just looked pissed it had taken her so long to break loose and get out; that was generally indicative of someone on the inside or from off planet who knew just how outdated the Lunar Palace actually was. He wasn't sure who she was or what relationship she had with the Rangers, but he was definitely going to find out when they got back.

"Let's get moving." He said simply, meeting her eyes and then turning and heading toward the open door. He could hear noises and shuffling outside the laboratory, but couldn't tell if it was on their level or the next level up on one of the balconies or open walkways. Wherever it was coming from, it was obvious the mêlée was drawing closer.

"Hold on." Carri murmured, backtracking back to the consol.

"What're you doing?" Jason asked, turning around. Time was critical at this point. It had taken him way too long to get down to the girls and if it took the same amount of time to get back they would all be in serious trouble; if they could get back. At this point, he was seriously considering leading them into the conflict and hoping Billy would see them and just transport them all out at once.

"Hold on…" She insisted impatiently, frowning and punching several buttons. When that didn't produce the desired results, she pounded and finally kicked the archaic looking device several times. Eventually a panel opened up and she grabbed something, shoving it in her pocket.

"Okay, let's go." She replied, trotting back over to them.

"You're sure…" Jason asked sardonically. "I mean, you don't need to waste more time beating the crap outta that thing? Maybe steal Rita's spell book, set off a few alarms, make getting out of here any harder than it already is?"

"Oh for goodness sake," Kat sighed, frustrated and scared and simply wanting to go home. They were wasting time. "Let's just go." She moaned, then turned and strode past Jason, through an archway and out into the hall.

Jason watched her go with a confused frown, wondering where she thought she was going, then looked back to Carri. She had stopped dead in her tracks and was shooting her cousin a venomous look that would have seriously intimidated even the bravest Ranger. He wondered then if the Rangers had gotten it wrong and it was the brunette that had suffered Rita's hex.

"Problems?" Jason asked as she moved roughly past him to follow Kat.

"Her…." She answered with a disgruntled snort. "…imploring goodness after she's been evil incarnate the past few weeks."

When Jason just stood there and gave her a blank look, she gave him a huge eye roll, threw up her hands dramatically, then turned her back on him with a disgusted cluck of her tongue.

"This rescue's definitely one for the books." He muttered humorously, shifting Kimberly's weight in his arms and ducking out into the hall after the two girls.

* * *

Fortunately, getting out of the palace was easier than anyone anticipated. The three found themselves transporting mid-stride, before they even reached the conflict, and the others were also pulled from the fight just as quickly; leaving Goldar and the rest of the Lunar Palace scratching their heads.

"Let me have her." Tommy said, bounding up and all but grabbing Kimberly from a surprised Jason.

"Yeah sure…no problem." He answered, staring after his friend. He watched as Tommy crossed the Command Center, cooing and talking to the unconscious girl as he went. It was weird and not what he would have expected from him at all. Jason frowned deeply at the scene as the Rangers hovered around the table and Tommy fretted and fussed over her like a kid obsessed with a new Christmas toy he thought might be broken.

"Jason." Zordon called gently from his power tube and he turned away from the crowd hovering around Kimberly to face him. "Katherine and Carri should also be examined for any residual effects of Zedd's incarceration and then escorted safely to the local hospital where the other victims were taken."

"Yeah…sure." He answered, slightly amused that the current team seemed to have completely forgotten they had guests in the Command Center and it was up to the old, retired leader, who wasn't even a Ranger anymore, to finish things properly. He understood what Zordon was asking, the two needed to be scanned medically, then someone needed to tell them to keep quiet.

"Come on girls." He called, turning to face them. "I think there should be another medical table in the next room over; at least it was there three months ago."

He took them out the side door of the central command room and into a smaller annex, watching their reactions as Zack Haruko's snoring form came into view on the medical table he'd mention earlier.

"Is he ok?" Kat asked in a worried voice. As more and more pieces to the puzzle of the last few weeks began to fall into place, she was rapidly becoming more and more depressed. What she had done was unfathomable to her. She wasn't simply embarrassed, she was mortified and, worse, she felt very, very guilty.

"He's fine, just sleeping it off." Jason said casually. "We'll send him to a local hospital after Alpha makes sure the gas doesn't have any lasting effects. He uhm…" He paused and looked between the girls uncomfortably. "He uh, had some toxicity issues that complicated his reaction."

Carri snorted and rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the least surprised. She doubted Zack did anything hard core anymore, but he'd been to the private, so-called, rehabilitation resorts more than once for mixing pain killers and antidepressants.

At Jason's curious look she added, "I know he was taking pain killers for his back. You probably also found sleeping pills in his system and since he was on stage live, some anti-anxiety stuff too."

"Along with some cold medicine, yeah, that's about right. You know him well?" He asked, stepping over to run a portable scanner across her frame.

"He's my brother's friend. They're all into that stuff. Nothing illegal that I know of, but if you know how to mix and match you can pretty much get the same effect." She answered.

"Carri that's horrible." Kat piped up. "If you knew Josh was abusing something, you should have told your mom and dad."

"Are you kidding?" Carri scoffed. "Where do you think he learned it from?" She asked pointedly.

She loved both her parents, but she was also brutally honest with herself about them. Her mom was quickly becoming an alcoholic addicted to sleeping medicine and her dad, well, her dad simply enjoyed the perks of being a big time producer; he stayed sober, but he also enjoyed himself from time to time. At Kat's horrified look, she grunted in irritation and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her cousin could be so blind sometimes. Why the hell did she think she had decided to make herself over?

"So you would or wouldn't consider him someone to trust with Ranger secrets?" Jason asked her pointedly, meeting her eyes with a hard, no-nonsense look that was all business. It seemed to change his personality from sociable to severe and she noted the change accordingly. Measuring him up silently, she decided he was apparently a fairly good natured guy who shared her sardonic sense of humor, but he was also nobody to mess with.

"Only if you want in-depth details of the Rangers and this whole complex of yours strew all over every rag and fanzine known to the planet." She answered honestly. "I mean, it'll probably read something like it was him who came to the Ranger's rescue, the whole save the day crap, but other than that…he's pretty much a self absorbed blabbermouth."

"So we need to transport him out before he wakes up." Jason grunted matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I'd advise it." Carri responded in the same tone, nodding.

"And how about you two?" He asked pointedly, finishing his scan of Carri and regarding her frankly.

"I'm used to keeping secrets." Carri responded, and he grinned slightly, eyes softening and shoulders relaxing a little. "Here," She said, holding out her hand and depositing Kim's power coin into his palm. "I think that belongs to Kimberly."

Jason looked down at the gold power coin and then back up at Carri. If he'd had any doubts about her before, they were gone. Whoever she was, she was a friend to the Rangers.

"How about her?" He asked, nodding his head in the blond's direction.

"What am I supposed to say?" Kat answered, giving him an aggrieved look. "I did horrible, unspeakable things to my friends and family over the past few weeks. I nearly got Kimberly killed. How could I ever face any of the Rangers ever again, let alone make public what I've seen and heard?"

"What you did," Jason responded firmly, "You did under the influence of Rita's spell. Very few are capable of resisting something that powerful. You were under her control and everyone here knows that."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and began his scan of her. When the diagnostics had been completed, he looked up and held her eyes firmly. "You're not the only one Rita has captured and enslaved under one of her spells." He said gently. "Trust me, I know people who have killed and tortured others while under her influence who have gone on to live positive, productive lives. I'm not saying it's easy, but you have the support of the Rangers if you need it."

"I'll keep your secrets." Kat said quietly, crossing her arms protectively in front of her. "And I'm very grateful that you rescued me from Rita, if there's ever anything I can do to…"

"Hang on." Carri spat indignantly. "Excuse me, who rescued you? Who got you to realize right from wrong and snap you out of bitch mode?"

"I'm only saying it was the Rangers who transported… is that the right word?" Kat asked, looking up at Jason for confirmation. When he nodded, she continued. "It was the Rangers who transported us out and got us safely back to earth. What was your plan Carri? We had nowhere to go. Waiting for us outside the palace was the surface of the moon. " She argued.

"Oh for the love of…" Carri all but howled, throwing her hands up in the air and shaking her head. "I give up. Try and do one good deed…but no, once again I go to incredible lengths and my family could honestly care less."

"Carri.." Kat protested admonishingly. "I didn't say that at all, I was simply saying that…"

"Trust me," Jason responded, ignoring the blond and catching Carri's eyes with a sadistically wicked grin. "I know exactly how it feels to do all the work and have someone else get the kudos for it."

* * *

A few hours later, the Rangers stopped short in the doorway of Kim's hospital room as they spied Carri and Katherine Hillard already there and chatting easily with one another. Unsure what to do, they filed in quietly, nodding their heads in greeting and murmuring a few polite phrases.

"I uhm…" Katherine began, then shifted nervously from where she'd been leaning against the windowsill, looking back and forth between Kimberly and her friends. "I was just telling Kimberly how sorry I was." She rushed. "And I should really say that to all of you too. I could see everything that was happening, but no matter how hard I tried to stop myself …"

"It's ok." Tommy reassured, stealing a glance at Kim who nodded at him in encouragement. "Rita's spells can be powerful. We all know it wasn't you." He added. If anyone knew how powerful Rita was, it was him. If Kim wasn't harboring any ill will against the girl, then he wouldn't either.

"I really appreciate that Tommy." Kat responded, smiling at him shyly and causing him to glance uncomfortably at Kim.

They all knew that it was Kat's jealously that fed the spell and it made him slightly uncomfortable to face her in front of his girlfriend; especially when that girlfriend was looking so pale and small on a hospital bed. A knock at the door interrupted them though and saved him from having to comment further.

"I'm sorry kids." A nurse interjected. "There are too many visitors in this room. At least half of you need to step out and wait in the waiting room."

"That's ok. We're done, they aren't going to keep us overnight so we're free to go. We just came by to say hi on our way home." Carri said, standing up from her seat at the foot of the bed. She grabbed her cousin's arm and began backing out of the small private room, but turning to Kim she added, "Don't forget, as soon as you're out of here, we have a shopping date at the mall."

"Definitely." Kim answered tiredly, grinning softly.

Smiling uncomfortably and waving goodbye to the others, she locked eyes with Rocky briefly, then pulled her cousin out of the room after her and began to walk down the hall toward the exit. In return, Rocky groaned loudly and slouched against the wall.

"So why haven't you asked her to the dance yet?" Kim asked him, eyes smiling even though it was obvious she was exhausted. The hospital bed had her propped up into a seated position, but she seemed to melt against it, as if it was the only thing keeping her upright. Dark blue half moons lined her eyes and her face was pale and gaunt. Not since Kemora's possession had she felt so weak and, despite Alpha's treatments in the Command Center, they all knew it would be days or even weeks before her energy returned and she felt back to normal.

"Because…" He stammered, frowning deeply and crossing his arms protectively in front of him. "It's weird, you know? She knows. How strange would that be? I mean, if she said yes it would only be because she knows…and I know that, you know?" He asked, frowning deeply and kicking his toes against the hospital floor. He honestly didn't know what to do.

On the one hand, he honestly still liked her, but on the other, he didn't want her liking him just because he was a Ranger. It was a weird position to be in and he suddenly realized he could sympathize with her frustrations over people liking her just because of her dad. There was also the fact that Jason obviously liked her too. He'd peppered the Rangers with questions and had talked about practically nothing else since he dropped them both by the hospital.

"Because she told me long before she ever found out that she was hoping you'd ask her." Kim said quietly, giving him a tired grin.

"She did?" He asked animatedly, in stark contrast to his downcast demeanor a few seconds before. His head snapped up, eyes asking silently if she was serious.

"It was supposed to be a secret." Kim added mischievously. "She liked you even before she knew; she told me so."

"Oh wow…" Rocky added, adrenaline rushing. He stood up and shuffled a bit from side to side, wiping his palms on his jeans. "You're serious?"

Kim didn't answer, just nodded wearily. She was amused by his reaction, but the truth was that she just simply didn't have the energy to play it up. Carri had already asked her if she could nudge him a long a little and she'd promised she would. "So what are you waiting for?" She asked him after he just stood there trying to figure out what to do next.

"Go get her Romeo." Aisha prodded, jerking her head toward the hall where Carri and her cousin had left.

"Seriously?" Rocky asked, and as one the assembly of Rangers groaned.

"Now." Aisha answered definitively. "Before she reaches the parking lot and you have to chase her car." She added drolly. Rocky didn't waste time, he bounded out of the room, ignoring the burst of laughter that followed him. "I think we should go too." Aisha added, grabbing Billy and Adam by their shirt sleeves and pulling them toward the door. "The nurse said there were too many of us in here bugging you."

"But you just got here." Kim protested. "You're not bothering me. I've been bored out of my mind all afternoon."

"We'll let Tommy keep you company." Her friend answered with a wink and a mischievous grin before grabbing the other boys and pushing them through the door. "You should rest. Who knows how long Zedd's gonna stay quiet." She added quietly over her shoulder as she exited too. " We'll have a real visit as soon as you rest up a bit."

Kim regretfully watched them go, then closed her eyes. In a way, it was a relief. The small crowd had been a little more than she was up to, but it was nice to know her friends cared enough to visit.

"Can't say I'm disappointed to see them go." Tommy said impishly, moving to her bedside. Sitting down on the side the bed, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. "Feeling any better Beautiful?" He asked softly.

"Now that you're here." She answered with a genuine smile, wrapping her arms around his neck.

She allowed him to pull her upwards off the pillow as he sat back up, then tilted her head and allowed him to kiss her for real. It was slow and deep and conveyed what neither said; that they were relieved the worst was over for now and they still had each other. Slowly, as the kiss continued to intensify, his hands slid around her and he moaned with the pure ecstasy of touching the bare skin of her back where the thin hospital gown opened.

Unfortunately, a sharp knock on the open door brought them both up short and back to the cold reality that, to everyone else but the other Rangers, they were merely two teenagers in love and both restricted to the antediluvian rules the outside world imposed adolescents.

"Sorry to interrupt." Her mother said tightly, obviously not entirely unhappy to force things to a halt. Ignoring Tommy, she met her daughter's eyes squarely. "I saw you're friends leaving, I thought I'd come and sit with you before your father arrives with Michael….although God knows if he's actually going to manage to show up before visiting hours are over with tonight."

"I…uhm…that is, we…could you give us a few minutes?" Kim asked sheepishly, hands dropping from around Tommy's neck.

"Kimberly…" Her mother responded in a warning tone.

"Mom, seriously, just a minute or two." Kim replied, meeting her mother's eyes with a pleading look. She moved back slightly from her boyfriend, but still kept his hand firmly in hers.

"Two minutes." Her mother answered firmly, eyes moving in Tommy's direction with a parental look that clearly stated he should behave. Then, looking back at Kim, she added, "I'm going to go to the machine and get another cup of coffee. When I come back, it's time to say good night."

With that, she turned abruptly and left the room; leaving the door wide open. Tommy inhaled sharply, then exhaled just as sharply. "Oops." He muttered, although his look was anything bit contrite. His eyes met Kim's and they shared the mutually amused look of having been caught red handed.

"It's ok." Kim answered, reaching up to kiss him again before leaning back against the reclining bed. "Mom and I had a long talk about you this afternoon. We agreed, no secrets. She knows how I feel about you and the decisions we're making about our relationship."

"Are you kidding?" Tommy asked uncertainly, gut sinking and panic rising. That wasn't exactly a topic he was comfortable sharing with an adult at all. He knew all too well what the parental vote would be and if her mom knew about the developing physical side to their relationship, she'd never understand.

"No secrets; well, except for the obvious Ranger ones." She added with a tired smile, squeezing his hand tightly. Giving him a more serious look, she added, "If it has to be a secret Tommy, then it's not right. If we have to hide, if we're ashamed, then we're doing something we shouldn't. I don't want it to ever have be that way between us."

"Kim…the parents aren't gonna understand." He countered. Kim hadn't grown up with parental control and restrictions like he had. He understood that both his parents were fairly open minded, but he'd still been restricted enough to know the areas that you just plain stayed away from offering information on. It was too risky in his book that they'd put an end to them seeing each other. He'd just gotten her back, he could easily lose her again if the powers that be ruled against them. The thought terrified him. "What if your mom says we can't see each other again?" He argued, voicing his fears.

"I told her that wasn't going to stop me from seeing you." She answered quietly, confirming his suspicions that her mother had already pulled the forbidden card. "Then I asked what she thought was better, me sneaking around and hiding things or being honest and having her to turn to and ask advice or confide in."

"And what did she say?" He asked morbidly. In his experience, the concept of sex was something moms weren't exactly comfortable with and got completely weird about. It could easily get your whole life taken away faster than you could blink. In his own mom's defense, even he admitted he'd started a bit too early with things. It had begun mostly out of rebellion against his parents' divorce and his dad's new girlfriend who was less than six years older than he was, but it was also a part of his life and had been for a while. Eventually, he and his mom had developed a mutual understanding; she didn't ask and he didn't tell. He knew she knew and she knew that he knew she knew; it was what they were both comfortable with. The idea of openly discussing it was…weird.

"She said sneaking around was how she ended up with me." Kim giggled softly, eyes twinkling. "I don't think she's happy about it." She added frankly, "But I think she wants to keep things in the open and at least try the honest approach before locking me into my room by myself for the next ten years."

Tommy didn't answer, just took a deep breath and wondered how on earth he was ever going to be able to look at or talk to her mother when he saw her next. He supposed, like anything else, it just took time. Maybe that's what growing up was; facing the things head on that you thought you had to hide from and dealing with them with your head up and shoulders squared. Realizing he wasn't exactly sure or happy with the idea, she sat up again and leaned into him, hand gently cupping the side of his face.

"You know I'm right."

"Maybe." He murmured, pressing his head into her palm. "You have a totally different way of dealing with your mom than I have with mine. I don't want to lose you Kim."

"I think that's the least of our worries." She answered softly, leaning into him and eyes worried.

"What do you mean?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close as she shivered against him.

"I can't say." She whispered, snuggling close against him. He was warm and safe and she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and press against him and have him hold her forever. "I don't know how much time we have." She said. Her voice was so soft he could barely hear it, but the fear in it was evident. "Maybe that's what makes me braver about talking to my mom. I don't want to waste the time we have left."

"Kim…" He answered, pushing her back enough to meet her eyes earnestly. "Tell me."

Kim paused and met his eyes silently for a few moments. She was terrified to answer and yet terrified to keep it to herself. She was very much aware that both Thomas and Zordon were concerned about her. She'd overheard them talking about her when she'd been on the medical bed in the Command Center; knew they feared for her. After a few soundless moments, she leaned close to his ear and whimpered frantically, "I can feel them."

"Who?" He asked in an equally quite tone. Her tone frightened him and he fought hard to sit still and be calm.

"The other Kimberlys." She whispered, horrified. Leaning her face back and meeting his eyes she added with despair. "I know where they are; all of them. I even know where Kemora is although I'm too afraid to look at her for too long in case she can see me too. What if…"

"It won't happened." He responded unwaveringly, knowing as she did that Zordon feared she would become Kemora's demon spawn.

"Tommy…"

"No." He answered firmly, arms wrapping tightly and protectively around her. "It won't happen, I won't let it."

"But…Kemora started out a Kimberly too." She replied, tears falling from her eyes. "What if…"

"No." He answered again. "Kemora chose to become evil. Thomas even said Kemora was bitter and angry before she ever fell prey to Maligore. We love each other Kim, that's not going to change."

"But…"

"No." He said decisively, pulling away and hands holding her shoulders firmly. "I love you too much." He declared, shaking her slightly for emphasis, and putting as much conviction in his words as he possibly could. "I promise I won't let it happen to you, do you understand? We'll deal with this together, the two of us, and I'll help you. I swear I won't let anything harm you ever again."

Kim watched the earnestness of his face with a longing she couldn't conceal. She hoped he was right, prayed with ever fiber in her that what was happening to her was something they really could control; but the deeper part of her still wasn't sure. She knew how powerful Kemora was, knew Kemora's cells were taking over her body.

"I love you." She said simply, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck; squeezing with all her might in hope that the world would melt away and the two of them would be left to love each other in peace.

"I love you too Beautiful." He murmured back, holding her just as tightly and imploring the Great Power to help him keep his promise. Zordon had said that love was the most powerful force of good in the universe, that it could conquer the impossible; he prayed his mentor was right.

* * *

Molly wasn't exactly pleased to allow her daughter time alone with the boyfriend, but she also knew there were very few options she could choose from. Kimberly had already said she was in love with the boy and would sneak off to see him if she tried to separate them; then turned around and impressed her with the argument she wanted to keep the lines of communication open and not hide from her. He reasoning's though, were still the reasoning's of an almost sixteen year old in puppy love for the first time and every instinct inside her screamed that the child should be grounded for life inside a chastity belt.

She couldn't keep her locked up forever, but the bigger part of her wanted to shake her daughter and try in some small way to make her understand that teenage love simply didn't last happily ever after the way she thought it would. As she sipped the bitter coffee produced by the machine, she thought sullenly of her own choices and disappointments in life; being pregnant at nineteen at the forefront. She wanted to spare her daughter all that. Life could be incredibly harsh and unforgiving; she was simply too young to be exposed to that… or maybe she wasn't; she didn't know anymore and it was frankly too late now to try and go back.

A few short years ago Kimberly been happy with dolls and stuffed animals. Protecting her from the world had been easy then; do it because I said so, that's why. The teenage years had come barreling in far too fast and Molly was simply unprepared to make the transition from a parent-child to a parent-teen relationship. It wasn't just the idea of sex, she considered herself to be quite opened minded about the whole thing; it was the idea her child was interested in it.

As she watched the boyfriend exit her daughter's room and walk down the hall towards her, she couldn't help but admire her daughter's taste. When had little boys gone from boy-cute to guy-cute; she wondered to herself. How it was possible that time had slipped by and they had all gone from interchangeable little cherubs into developing adults, she wasn't sure. She didn't regret it, she was just simply amazed that it had all happened without her realizing it.

"Ms. Williams." Tommy said, nodding politely at Kim's mother and trying to pass her casually despite the thudding terror in his heart. With any luck, he hoped she'd simply nod back and he could keep walking past her.

She smiled thinly at the teen, positive she felt every bit as awkward as he did. What did you say to a boy whom your daughter admitted having sex with at least once? You wanted to castrate him and send him home crying to his mother, but that wouldn't work. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her coffee and said in the calmest voice she could muster, "I don't want Kimberly hurt."

"Me neither." He said seriously, stopping a few feet from her.

"The two of you are very young and Kimberly is in a very vulnerable place in her life." She added, impressed with herself that she could remain calm and parental when all she wanted to do was smack him hysterically.

"I understand." Tommy answered, squaring his shoulders and facing her. He wasn't comfortable at all, but his tenure as a Ranger made him realize that, if he didn't stand up to her, he'd only confirm her opinion of him that he was young and didn't know what he was doing. That was a power over him he wasn't about to let her have. She could be Kim's mother, but she wasn't going to be his. "Believe me, I understand better than anyone." He continued honestly. "I won't let anything bad happen to her, I promise."

"I hope so." Molly replied quietly, then turned her back on him and began to walk to her daughter's room.

She was about half way there when something dawned on her. Stopping and turning, she regarded his retreating form critically; white shirt, white pants, white bandanna. Her eyes narrowed, analyzing the confident set to his shoulders, the way he strode rather than walked, and the power, even at such a young age, that he commanded. She replayed his words over in her mind as she watched him, comparing the tone. "I won't let anything bad happen to her, I promise."

A cold chill oozed down her spine as she began to put the pieces of the last few months together. The monster attack, how the Rangers just happened to be there. Her daughter's new friends who seemed to appear from nowhere and seemed completely out of place for her. How she could remember Tommy but not her gymnastics coach. Why the invaders would target Kimberly at an art auction just after the Rangers appeared, how the Rangers could be interested in an art auction at all. Her mind then pieced other, small things that had nibbled at the back of her subconscious for a long time. Even before the monster attack where she'd lost her memory, Kimberly was always disappearing at odd times; almost always just before the monster alarms sounded.

As the boyfriend turned down an adjacent hallway and out of sight, Molly turned as well and walked slowly toward her daughter's room. She paused outside and checked herself, wondering if she was really willing to put the spinning pieces of information floating in her mind into one concise thought. It certainly explained things, but in other ways seemed too implausible to believe. Walking inside, she smiled tightly at her daughter, then took a seat in the chair beside her bed.

"How's the coffee?" Kim asked, assuming her mother's tense behavior had to do with the uneasiness surrounding Tommy's visit.

"Hideous." Molly answered with a more genuine smile, placing the cup and it's cooling contents on the side table. "Tommy's a nice boy." She declared, surprising her daughter.

"I think so." Kim answered with a hesitant grin.

"Careful." Another voice drifted through her mind, letting her know the ghost had again appeared. "She knows about the Rangers."

Kim couldn't quite stifle the sound that emerged from her lips, so she tried to cover it with a few coughs. Turning towards the window opposite her mother, she could easily see the form of the other Kimberly, watching her mother intently.

"She knows." The ghost repeated. "She figured out in the hallway that Tommy was the white Ranger, but she's not exactly ready to admit to herself yet that you could be a Ranger too; she's heading in that direction though."

"Your friends seem nice too." Her mother continued amiably, picking up the coffee again and taking a sip. She paused a moment, then replaced it back on the table. "They all seem to be into sports and physical fitness."

Kim nodded instead of answering, turning back around to gauge if her mother was really going to ask her about the Rangers or keep her suspicions to herself.

"They were a huge help with setting up for the auction tomorrow... so rare to find teens who'd want to be involved with the community like that. It was nice to see."

"They enjoyed it." Kim said simply, still watching her mother closely.

"It was nice of the Power Rangers to take an interest in the auction too. That canvass has generated a lot of interest. We could be looking at a bidding war; I haven't dealt with one of those in a long time. Should be fun." She murmured absently. "I'm still baffled how they knew about it if you didn't call them."

"No she isn't." The ghost warned. "She's put it all together, better be careful."

"Kimberly," Her mother began cautiously, pausing as if trying to gauge her words. "When the Rangers rescued you the first time…I guess what I'm trying to ask is… you know who they are, don't you?"

Kim shrugged and didn't answer; simply regarded her mother with tired eyes and an exhausted expression. Her mother calmly regarded her in return and a silence descended between them; neither breaking eye contact, but neither speaking.

"Going back to our earlier conversation about being open and not keeping secrets…" Her mother began after a few seconds.

"Some secrets aren't mine to share." Kim replied softly, cutting her off.

"Kimberly, you've been seriously hurt now, twice, in less than three months. If you've found yourself involved in something that…"

"I'm fine mom. Both were just freak accidents." She responded plainly and in a soft voice, but her eyes had turned hard and her mother was left with the distinct impression that no more answers were forthcoming.

It was a look that was very different than Molly had ever seen on her daughter and she paused to wondered at it. She realized then that she really didn't know the young woman reclining on the hospital bed next to her; somewhere, somehow, she had changed. Perhaps that was the wrong word for it, perhaps she had simply begun to grow up without her realizing it.

She was terrified by the conclusions she was drawing. She realized in that moment that there would be no more gymnastics, there would be no more baby dolls and frilly dresses; the girl before her was charging out head first into a world she couldn't protect her from. Molly could adjust to boys, she could adjust to new friends and no more gym after school, but aliens and monsters…she just couldn't go there. How and why she would ever even want to become involved in that sort of thing baffled her.

"I'm here for you Kimberly." She said after a few moments. "I hope you know that."

Kim smiled and her eyes softened as she realized her mother wasn't going to press the issue; at least for now. Perhaps Tommy was right. In some ways, maybe a don't ask-don't tell policy was better. "I know mom." She answered quietly.

* * *

As the flashing lights stopped, the music slowed, and half the gym lights began to flicker on one by one, signaling the end of the freshmen and sophomore's Valentine's Sweetheart Dance, Kim sighed and pulled Tommy reluctantly on the dance floor for one last slow dance. It was only ten, but this was the last dance they'd have as junior classmen. Next year would be Junior Prom and a year from then the Senior Prom, but for now, virtually none of them could drive for themselves, many had parents waiting outside in the bus lane, and almost all of them had curfews.

Tommy, despite his agility in martial arts and proficiency in a fight, wasn't exactly the best dancer. He stumbled awkwardly through the slow dances, tripping as much over his own feet and hers, and just couldn't seem to find a beat to match Kim's during the faster tunes, but she didn't care. As his arms wrapped around her waist, her fingers touched the little pink heart at her throat before reaching up and intertwining them firmly behind his neck; she couldn't think of a more perfect moment in her entire life.

"I can't believe it's time to go already." He muttered gloomily, stepping back from her slightly and raising his hands a little higher up her back as one of the chaperones gave him another evil eye. They'd already been told three or four times to separate for dancing too closely and the last time they'd been warned their parents would be called if they did it again. Looking in the opposite direction, he spied Rocky and Carri doing the same as the chaperone in question found a new set of victims.

"Tomorrow's Sunday." She said dreamily, ignoring the increasing amounts of light in the gymnasium and resting her temple against his chest.

"Lake?" He asked hopefully, eyes brightening, but she only grinned and didn't answer. The lake was the one spot they'd found where they could be completely alone and no one would bother them…and they could take the bus there until Tommy's got his driver's license. He grinned wickedly at the idea and pulled her closer; figuring it was the last dance and both their mother's were probably already outside waiting for them anyway. Thoughts of cuddling with her under a blanket in the woods alongside the lakeshore, more than made up for any mandatory goodnights they were facing at the end of the song.

True to her word, Kim didn't keep any secrets from her mother about the developing physical side to their relationship, but she didn't offer any details either; which suited him fine. It made him a little uncomfortable sometimes, but he followed her lead and did the same with his own mom. They both knew neither of their parents were exactly happy, but all were adjusting. Tommy didn't care, he considered the two of them legally married; which they were everywhere in every galaxy except their own home planet.

He just didn't get how they could be Rangers, out risking their lives on a daily basis saving the universe and still be too young to decide who they were going to be with. It was frustrating, but as neither of them were in any kind of position to move out on their own, he supposed it was for the better; they were only sixteen, they had time.

"Mrs. Applebee says I might be able to go back to school next month." Kim said absently, swaying to the music and ignoring the fact the Tommy hit one or the other of her feet on every other beat.

"That would be great." He answered distantly, lowering his head down to hers and simply enjoying the opportunity to hold her. Any chance to see her during the week that didn't involve a monster attack would be a very welcome addition.

"Just for science lab and a few electives, a half day at most a couple times a week, but it's a start." She added. "Maybe we can even have lunch together."

"Tomorrow at the lake sounds better." He suggested, a slow, wicked grin spreading across his face. She leaned back just far enough to slap his chest playfully and, unrepentant, he leaned in and kissed her; delighted when she eagerly returned it.

"Don't let go." She whispered as the kiss ended, closing her eyes.

As the music slowed to its final few chords, she kept her eyes tightly sealed and a tried to memorize every second. Every sense in her reached out to record all the feelings; every smell, every sound, every instant of those last few moments. His arms were warm and strong, the music soft, the background noises increasing in their thunder as the freshmen and sophomores packed up and filtered out the gymnasium exit.

Never, in her wildest dreams did she ever imagine she'd be where she was at that moment. A few short months before she had had nothing but devastation facing her; no life, just existence. Now she had her place in the Rangers, a family who treasured her, and she had the one and only boy in the universe she had ever dared hope to love.

"Don't let go." She whispered again, holding onto him tightly. "Don't let it end."

"Never." Tommy murmured, pulling her close against him and leaning his head down to snuggle it between her ear and shoulder. "I won't ever let you go Kim."

"Promise?" She asked wistfully, caught up in the magic of the last few moments of music and dance.

"Swear." He answered decisively, kissing her shoulder softly.

At that moment, the song came to an end and hundreds of red and white and pink balloons dropped from a net above them. The second half of the gym's fluorescent lights began to flicker on and the dance was at its end. Both of them raised their heads as the little spheres cascaded softly around them, reflecting the colored lights of the dance globe still spinning above them before gently covering the floor.

Kim's eyes met his and he smiled, expression full of love and trust and longing. She thought then of the little bird she'd painted above the light switch in her room. The little lost bird, thrown roughly from its nest far too soon by the harsh winds of life; all lost and alone and afraid of the wide world it suddenly found surrounding it. She wasn't lost anymore, she wasn't afraid of the wind; she'd learn to spread her wings and, in turn, to soar.


End file.
